Key Officers of the U.S. Foreign Service (KOFS) data

The Key Officers of the U.S. Foreign Service (KOFS) dataset contains information on the following, observed quarterly between 1966 and 2017: 1. the names, locations, and classifications of each U.S. overseas diplomatic post (embassies, consulates, branch offices, missions to international organizations, commercial offices, and other) 2. the diplomatic position categories represented at each post; 3. the identities of the top-ranking (“key”) officers at each post in each position category, as well as unique identifiers for each officer. It is therefore the most comprehensive micro-level dataset on diplomatic representation to ever be compiled. There are many ways in which this data might be used to study the predictors of diplomatic representation, the effects of diplomacy, the factors that lead individuals to be promoted through the ranks of the service, and a variety of other research questions.