Yí ge hǎo de wàijiāojiā jì yào jiānchí yuánzé, yòu yào dǒngde tuǒxié.
A good diplomat has to stand firm on principle and still know how to compromise.
Tips
usage
外交官 is a job: any official serving in an embassy or a foreign ministry. 外交家, like 政治家 and 科学家, names someone known for the field, so it is said of figures such as 张骞 or 基辛格 (Henry Kissinger), not of an ordinary embassy official.
