RI's youngest woman envoy hopes to forge new ties with Norway

Adianto P. Simamora and Veeramalla Anjaiah, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The public may consider the lifestyle lavish, but ambassadors often find they are unable to live normal lives. The image of an ambassador is of a life where they have a cigar in one hand and a glass of wine in the other. And an ambassador is invariably always a man in his 50s or 60s.

But this perception is changing rapidly. Women are now occupying top positions in the diplomatic service and are able to successfully manage their professional lives and care for their families. They may also be young in age, says ambassador- designate Retno Lestari Priansari Marsudi.

There is no need to smoke or drink alcohol as a diplomat, she asserts.

Women are currently given more challenging assignments.

There are many examples -- the head of the French defense ministry, Michele Alliot-Marie, the United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. The 25-member powerful regional organization, the European Union (EU), also appointed Benita Ferrero-Waldner as its external relations commissioner.

Indonesia obviously does not want to lag behind. Perhaps this is why President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono appointed recently Retno and Lucia Helwinda Rustam as Indonesia's ambassadors to Norway and Switzerland respectively.

Currently, there are about 10 Indonesian women ambassadors around the globe.

Retno is the youngest and the brightest among them.

At the age of 43, Retno, a career diplomat who has a degree in international relations, has reached the peak of her career.

For Retno, her appointment was a big surprise because it broke the long-standing myth that ambassadorial posts were the preserve of men, who were about to retire.

"Frankly speaking, I was very surprised (with the appointment). I knew that one day I would become an ambassador but I didn't think it would be so soon," she told The Jakarta Post in an interview at her office recently.

Ever since joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1986, where Retno now works as director of Western European affairs, her potential has been recognized due to her excellent diplomatic skills and experience in dealing with crisis situations.

"I was in Brussels for consultation with the European Union when Jakarta sought my curriculum vitae for the ambassadorial post. I had not heard of this (my candidacy) issue before," she said.

Retno, an alumni of Gadjah Mada University (UGM) in Yogyakarta, is married to an architect and is a mother of two boys.

"There is no way my diplomatic career affects my family life. I always spend quality time with my husband and children on the weekends," said Retno, who loves mountaineering.

Retno, who was born in Semarang, began her diplomatic career as a staff member at the directorate general of ASEAN in 1987.

She was promoted as a press attache in 1990 and posted in Canberra. At that time the relations between Australia and Indonesia were passing through a difficult phase due to the situation in East Timor. The embassy was blocked by protesters on several occasions.

"That was the most challenging task. The Santa Cruz (Indonesian troops opened fire on East Timorese during a peaceful memorial procession to a cemetery and killed several scores of them) incident made our lives in Canberra more difficult," she said.

"I still remember how difficult it was to get access to information, I once called Jakarta for details about the incident but no one was able to tell me what was happening there," she said.

However, thanks to the diplomatic skills of the Indonesian ambassador to Australia Sabam Siagian, the embassy was able to handle the vocal Australian media, she said.

"I learned a lot from Pak Sabam especially the way he dealt with the Australian media. He opened the dialog with local media to discuss the incident. He has a good memory for history,"

Sabam is also the former chief editor of the Post.

Retno's performance in Canberra won her accolades from the members of the House of Representatives, who called her a "strong lady".

Retno was moved to the Netherlands in 1997, another difficult place for Indonesian diplomats given the ups and downs in Indonesia's relations with its former colonial master and the presence of vocal Maluku dissidents.

"Our relations with the Netherlands are like those of a husband and wife who often quarrel but never divorce. It is because the two countries have a sensitive history together," she said.

To create a rapport with Dutch officials, Retno applied a personal approach by regularly visiting the Dutch foreign ministry office and holding informal talks with the ministry's officials. Thanks to her efforts to improve ties with the Dutch government, things moved rapidly

A new chapter in both countries' relations was opened when the Netherlands recognized Aug. 17, 1945 as the date of Indonesia's independence recently. The Netherlands had never previously recognized the date as it only transferred power to Indonesia in 1949.

Asked about the bilateral relations between Indonesia and Norway, Retno stressed that the two countries have strong relations both in political and economic matters.

The two countries launched the human rights forum in 2002, which has been working as a platform for both countries to cooperate within the field of human rights.

Retno wants to strengthen the existing relations with a special emphasis on economic relations to form a new partnership with Norway.

Fisheries, energy, shipping as well as trade and investment sectors are the main priority areas on which Retno wants to focus during her tenure in Norway.

"Indonesia still has untapped marine resources, while Norway has the marine technology. We can cooperate in this area," she said.