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Just a diplomatic spouse?

I’ve recently had the pleasure to chat with Alexandra Paucescu, a Romanian-born diplomatic spouse, currently based in Berlin.

An encounter with someone who, disappointed to find out he was not speaking to her husband, exclaimed: “She’s just a diplomatic spouse!” inspired the name of her book and the title of this episode.

My grandmother was a foreign-born (Spanish) diplomatic spouse, and accompanied my grandfather, an Austrian diplomat, to numerous postings on 3 continents.

I remember visiting them when they were ambassadors in Argentina, at around age 10, leaving me in awe of what seemed like such a glamorous lifestyle. (As a matter of fact, I myself was considering a diplomatic career when studying International Relations in the UK.)

But it also comes with many challenges that are often not easily discussed and conveyed to others, who’d rather look at diplomatic life and wives as clichés.

Diplomatic and expat wives share many commonalities and so it’s important to share our stories and experiences with each other and offer mutual support!

Meet Alexandra

She’s a Management graduate with a Master in Business, studied Cultural Diplomacy and International Relations. She speaks Romanian, English, French, German and Italian. Turned diplomatic spouse at age 30, she published a book about diplomatic life, writes articles and gives lectures on intercultural communication.