Legal Definitions - consul general

A consul general is a high-ranking official appointed by a government to oversee commercial and other matters involving their home country and its citizens in a foreign country. They are not diplomatic agents, but they are entitled to consular immunities, which protect them from local law and jurisdiction in the exercise of their consular functions.

Consuls are commercial agents who reside abroad to protect the individual interests of traders, travelers, and mariners belonging to the state which employs them. They exercise jurisdiction over their countrymen, and their residences may be used as asylums in the case of war or tumult. They possess more than the ordinary diplomatic immunities.

A consul general is appointed to a strategically important region and often has supervisory powers over other regions or other consuls. In Roman law, a consul general was one of two chief magistrates elected annually during the Republic to exercise supreme authority.

For example, the United States Consul General in Hong Kong is responsible for promoting U.S. interests and assisting American citizens in Hong Kong and Macau. They also oversee the work of other consulates in the region. Another example is the Consul General of France in New York, who is responsible for promoting French interests and assisting French citizens in the United States.

These examples illustrate how a consul general is a high-ranking official who represents their home country in a foreign country and is responsible for protecting the interests of their citizens living abroad.