DIPLOMATIC ACADEMY AND EDUCATION OF DIPLOMATS

   There is historical evidence that diplomacy and professional training of diplomats have a long tradition in Serbia. From the very beginnings of the Serbian state, its diplomatic service has followed the state’s political and social development and shared the same destiny.

The first modern law on diplomatic service was passed in 1886 during the reign of King Milan. The rules and conditions required for joining the service were stipulated by the law and diplomatic agents, as well as all other civil servants, were required to have the “necessary knowledge and abilities”. The diplomatic candidate was required to have a domestic or foreign university degree, the knowledge of the French language, to pass the complex entrance exam, and subsequently also the diplomatic-consular exam designed to test the knowledge and the initial skills acquired in diplomacy and statesmanship.

Many of our renowned personalities served in the diplomatic service and acquired specific diplomatic training, from the first Serbian diplomats such as Jovan Ducic, Milan Rakic, Ivo Andric, Milos Crnjanski to our contemporaries.

In the framework of specific legal regulations, the education of diplomats gained in complexity according to the modern standards of diplomatic service and contemporary international developments. With time, this education has become institutionalized. In 1998, the diplomatic school of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has grown into the Ministry’s new organizational unit – the Diplomatic Academy whose regular programmes are designed to enhance the specific knowledge and skills of diplomats and civil servants and become the stronghold of their professional career development.

The new curriculum and the programme of the Diplomatic Academy have been applied since the beginning of 2002. Lectures are given by professional diplomats, university professors from the Faculty of Political Science, Faculty of Law, Faculty of Economics, and by other experts from Serbia and abroad.

In the framework of its activities, the Diplomatic Academy prepares and organizes the following education programmes and professional trainings:

• Regular annual program for young diplomats
• Courses and seminars abroad
• Counselor exams
• Foreign language classes
• Seminars, workshops
• Discussions, lectures, special courses

PROGRAMME

   The Program of the Academy was primarily designed to train young professionals who are beginning to work with the Ministry. Through the practical application of diplomatic knowledge and research, the Academy seeks to advance the study and practice diplomacy and address important humanitarian and political issues by educating civil servants from other ministries and institutions.

The program lasts for nine months and it is divided in three trimesters. There are 14 exams to be passed.

Every year, Diplomatic academy admits up to 50 young attendants. Candidates are young trainees of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and civil servants of other ministries and institutions with developed international cooperation.

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

1. University degree
2. 35 age limit
3. Good command of English
4. Recommendation letter by employer
5. Passed entrance exam