Diplomatic illness is the practice amongst
diplomats and
government ministers of feigning
illness, or another debilitating condition, to avoid engaging in diplomatic or social engagements.[1] The excuse of ill-health is designed to avoid formally offending the host or other parties.[2][3] The term also refers to the period during which the "diplomatic illness" is claimed to persist.
Examples
General
John J. Pershing, on his return in 1926 from unsuccessful negotiations between Peru, Bolivia and Chile and suffering from ill-health, was stated by his critics to have a "diplomatic illness".[4]
During the Communist takeover in
Czechoslovakia in 1948, foreign minister
Jan Masaryk was thought to have a "diplomatic illness", as he stayed out of touch with many of his former foreign contacts.[5]
A temporary absence of
Bosnian Serb leader
Ratko Mladic, at a time in 1995 when Bosnian Serb forces were withdrawing near Sarajevo under an agreement with
NATO, was ascribed by some sources to "diplomatic illness".[6]