agregado

Agregado is a Spanish noun and adjective with several related senses. In diplomacy, an agregado is a member of a diplomatic mission—typically an attaché—posted at an embassy or consulate to represent their country’s interests and assist the head of mission. Common types include el agregado militar, agregado comercial, agregado cultural, and agregado de prensa.

As a title, the agregado acts as a liaison and specialist in a specific domain, preparing reports, facilitating contacts, and observing political, economic, or security developments in the host country. They usually serve under the ambassador or consul and work in alignment with their home country’s foreign ministry.

As an adjective, agregado means “added” or “included” in a broader sense. It is used in contexts such as valor agregado (added value) or datos agregados (aggregated data). The term can describe elements that have been joined or attached to something else, or concepts that have been combined.

Origin and usage: agregado derives from the verb agregar (to add) with the participial suffix -ado. In institutional use, the sense of something that has been added or attached has extended to designate certain officials stationed abroad and, more generally, things that are appended or combined.