A Consul is the official representative of one state (the sending state) who resides in another state (the receiving state). The position, the status, the rights and the obligations of a consul are defined by the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (the Convention), which was signed on April 24 1963.

Following the Convention, it is important to distinguish between the two categories, of career consuls and honorary consuls, since their tasks and competences are somewhat different. The Convention differently defines the legal status of the two categories. Career consuls are civil servants of the sending state, whereas honorary consuls are personalities of high esteem, usually citizens or permanent residents of the receiving state, who undertake to safeguard the interests of the sending state, as well as to further the development of commercial, economic, cultural and scientific relations between the sending state and the receiving state, using their own financial resources and network of acquaintances.

The Honorary Consulate of the Slovak republic in Haifa and in Northern Israel opened for the first time in 1999, when Mr. Dan Mandel, CPA (Isr.), was nominated Honorary Consul. The nomination by the Slovak Government was resolved and granted by the Slovak Minister of Foreign Affairs (at the time Minister Eduard Kukan) and was accepted and approved by the President of the State of Israel (at the time - President Ezer Weizman) and the Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs (at the time - Minister David Levy). In fact, The Honorary Consulate is linked, and operates in very close cooperation with the Slovak Embassy to Israel, located in Tel Aviv. The Slovak Republic has additional three Honorary Consulates in Israel: in Jerusalem, in Beer Sheva and Southern Israel, and in the Center - Gush Dan (Tel Aviv and satellite cities).

Honorary Consul of the Slovak Republic holds in his possession official stamps of the Slovak Republic and he is authorized to use them, but the short distances in Israel, and the expertise of the career consul, allow anyone who needs assistance to visit the Slovak embassy in Tel Aviv and enjoy the official consular services provided by the competent Consular Office, there.

The Honorary Consuls in Israel are organized within the Consular Corps of Israel, a non-for-profit organization (www.consuls.co.il), which is the Israeli affiliate of FICAC - World Federation of Consuls (www.ficacworld.org).