2019-6-11 · A chargé d'affaires (French pronunciation: [ʃaʁʒe dafɛʁ]), often shortened to chargé (French) and sometimes to charge-D (abbreviated in colloquial English), is a diplomat who heads an embassy in the absence of the ambassador.The term is French for "charged with (in charge of) matters". A female diplomat may be designated a chargée d'affaires, following French declension.