What is a Persona Non Grata?

Persona non grata is a Latin phrase which refers to a person who is not welcome. The term persona non grata is used in a formal sense to describe the unwelcome presence of a diplomat, as for example when two countries are going to war with each other. Persona non grata may also be used in a personal sense when others ignore one. For example one might say, “In high school, I was persona non grata. I walked the halls but no one realized I existed.”

In the formal diplomatic sense, the status of persona non grata may be applied to a diplomat, or a member of the diplomatic staff who break the rules of the country in which he or she is visiting. A person who is a diplomat has diplomatic immunity from the laws of the country. However, if the person breaks the country’s laws, then he or she can be declared persona non grata and expelled from the country.

Another reason for the persona non grata declaration is if a diplomat is suspected of spying. A suspected spy will usually not be dealt with by the foreign country and will not be recognized as an authority of a representative country. Hence suspected spies with persona non grata status often are replaced by diplomats who are not suspected spies.

Sometimes a person’s past may classify them as persona non grata. This was the case with Kurt Josef Waldheim, who served as Austria’s president from 1986-1992, and was the U.N. Secretary General from 1972-1981. Rumors of his knowledge or participation in Nazi war crimes led to a commissioning of historians to discover the truth. The assigned historians discovered Waldheim at the least had knowledge of certain Nazi war crimes.

To many European Nations and to the US, Waldheim became persona non grata, though some Austrians still claimed his innocence. During his presidency, Waldheim did not visit the countries declaring him persona non grata, as they would not have welcomed him.

Written by Tricia Ellis-Christensen