Women peacemakers among us

What do Pope Francis, the former UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon and the former German chancellor Angela Merkel have in common? They all knew and worked with – or at least had policy discussions with – the former Foreign Affairs Secretary of the Philippines, Ambassador Delia Domingo Albert. I have seen photos and read public accounts of their meetings. For the whole list of history-making personalities that Ambassador Delia (as she likes to be called) has worked with, we would need an entire page of this newspaper.

Ambassador Delia’s career spans over 50 years of recent history. Her first posting abroad after joining the Foreign Ministry was Geneva (1969-1975). From there she went to Bucharest, as a critical part of the team setting up the Philippines’ embassy in Romania, the first ever Filipino mission in a country of the then communist bloc. She went on to have an illustrious career in bilateral and multilateral diplomacy, and reached the highest position for a career diplomat, as Foreign Affairs Secretary (2001-2002). She was ambassador to Germany (2005-2010) and Australia (1995-2002), two crucially important partners for the Philippines. All along her career, ASEAN has always been close to her heart, as well. In 2004, Ambassador Delia chaired the UN Security Council, and highlighted the role of women as peacemakers and peacebuilders.

The story of how Ambassador Delia succeeded to marry her love, a German journalist, and keep her job at a time when Filipina diplomats had to resign if they married a foreigner is the stuff of legend.

Ambassador Delia was the driving force and editor of the volume “Women in Diplomacy: The Remarkable Ambassadors in the Philippines Foreign Service.” After publication, it became apparent that the Philippines is ranking first in the world in terms of the number of women ambassadors leading missions abroad since independence. The Romanian Ministry for Foreign Affairs followed suit and published, in 2023, its own volume “Women’s Voices in the Romanian Diplomacy.” Other similar books are to be published shortly, in Asia and elsewhere.

An article can hardly include everything that Ambassador Delia has achieved. She continues to pursue her passions, including supporting younger generations of women to accomplish their dreams, fighting for ethical and sustainable mining, contributing to ASEAN people-to-people contacts, nurturing relationships with various countries and organizations around the word. In everything she does, she is passionate and unstoppable.

As a Romanian diplomat, I happen to know more about Ambassador Delia Albert’s links to Romania. Bucharest could have been just a stop-over in a rich and successful career. Instead, it has become a life-long love-story; Ambassador Delia still loves Romania and Romania loves her back. As a young diplomat in Bucharest, Delia Albert made her mark: she traveled extensively, knew all the relevant Romanian diplomats of the time, including the legendary foreign minister Corneliu M?nescu, president of the United Nations General Assembly (September 1967-1968), met with the elites and with ordinary people, including dissidents, learned about the country’s culture, brought Romanian artists to the Philippines and Filipino artists to Romania, thus helping build vibrant bilateral links between our countries. She was the beloved friend of the grand dame of Romanian medicine, Ana Aslan, inventor of the discipline of geriatrics, the science of aging.

During her tenure in Romania, 1975-1982, Ambassador Delia did everything that a seasoned diplomat would do, except that she was just a young diplomat, in her 30s. Her interest in people, vivid curiosity, hands-on approach, her way of never giving up, her attention to detail, as demonstrated in Romania, have been a landmark of her whole distinguished career. For Ambassador Delia, her assignment did not end in 1982, as she kept an eye on Romania and continued to support the development of Filipino-Romanian relations, wherever she was.

Ambassador Delia’s career is exemplary, not only for Philippine diplomacy but for any diplomat anywhere in the world. Her commendable work in Romania and her continued commitment to the development of the Philippines-Romania relations up to this day led the President of Romania, H.E. Klaus Iohannis, to confer to Ambassador Delia Albert the Romanian National Order for Merit, in the Rank of Commander, one of the highest honors bestowed on a foreign diplomat. Ambassador Delia is the recipient of other honors and awards but I believe that the Romanian National Order is a timely recognition which she would value highly.

As Ambassador of Romania to the Philippines, I will be thrilled and honored to hand over the order to its recipient in a couple of days. Thank you, Ambassador Delia Albert, for offering diplomats, especially women-diplomats everywhere, an example, a role-model and an inspiration!

Women peacemakers are among us. We just need to see them, value them, be grateful for their example and follow them.

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R?du?a Dana Matache is the Ambassador of Romania to the Philippines.