More than Vietnam’s voice of diplomacy
View(s):Vietnam’s ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives, Phan Kieu Thu hails from a family of civil servants. She took a place of pride among them when she moved into her new offices off Ward Place in August this year, thereby becoming the youngest woman ever to be appointed an ambassador of her country. Her focus over the coming years will be on developing bilateral relationships and promoting trade and investment, but in the meantime she’s finding she has a secret weapon to aid her in her diplomacy – her ability to sing in Sinhala.
In fact, Ambassador Phan can sing in nine languages. It makes her a popular guest not just on the cocktail circuit but on TV with local channels like Rupavahini, ITN and Derana who are jockeying to film her. To her this is a way to relax, something she must make time for in her already hectic schedule. “I am not a professional. I love singing, people love to hear me sing. It’s a hobby,” she tells the Sunday Times.
Slender and elegantly dressed, Ambassador Phan sits on a couch framed by the flags of Sri Lanka and Vietnam. As she speaks, it becomes evident that her music could provide a window into her history. Academically, an eclectic range of interests suggests a formidable intellect, while her time in the Foreign Service has taken her all over the world.
She speaks fluent Russian, having completed a BA in Russian Literature and Language. She followed up with an MA in Public Policy at the Korea Development Institute (South Korea) which also had the side benefit of allowing her to add singing in Korean to her resume. Ambassador Phan is now doing her PhD in Economics.
After joining the Foreign Service, she then served in Southeast Asia and Australia, and by 2011 was appointed Director of South Asia within Vietnam’s Department of Southeast Asia, South Asia and South Pacific of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Not long after that, she was promoted to the post of Deputy Director General of the Historical Department before being appointed Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
Ambassador Phan Kieu Thu
Her drive and her inspiration come from her family. Her father Phan Doan Nam is now retired but he was a senior diplomat and the Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs. He was in India in 1958 to serve as an interpreter for talks of President Ho Chi Minh with Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. He was later appointed ambassador to Mexico – and his daughter used that opportunity to learn Spanish.
Growing up, she remembers that her father was one of the very few people in Vietnam who spoke English fluently. She says he would be up every day at 3 a.m. to listen to the BBC and other news channels and he would then report the highlights to the leadership. “I was very impressed,” Mrs. Phan says, adding that years later she could still hum the opening bars of music that announced those broadcasts. Years later, her decision to follow in Phan Doan Nam’s footsteps seemed natural. “I was very influenced by my father.”
Her grandfather on her mother’s side was also an inspiration to her. Books have been written about Pham Duc Nam who was a legendary commander and the Chairman of the People’s Committee of Da Nang for many years. He was part of the resistance and later played a critical role in the battle of Thuongv Ducat Da Nang, which is today one of the largest cities in Vietnam and remains a crucial harbour. Ringed by mountains on one side and the South China Sea on the other, Da Nang was at the time home to a major air base used by both the South Vietnamese and United States air forces, with the base itself being considered one of the world’s busiest airports during the war.
Pham Duc Nam’s granddaughter remembers him as a man who was very caring and also a pragmatist. “Though he fought against the Americans, he told me to go to the US to study because he told me we need technology and knowledge,” she says. Though English is not her native language, Ambassador Phan says she would like to write a book in English and dedicate it her father and her children.
Now, her successes in the Foreign Service will hopefully open the door for other women. “It has been hard for women to succeed, given family commitments and everything else…”she says. Thanking those who endorsed her as ambassador, especially the Deputy Prime Minister cum Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh, she reveals that “ I can’t be where I am today without the support extended to me by the leadership of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, all my colleagues there, all my friends and loved ones.”
In the meantime, Ambassador Phan and her son are settling down in Colombo. Like her, he plays the piano and has a fondness for classical music. Her daughter, who is studying abroad, is also multilingual and sings soprano. Ambassador Phan is herself increasingly being called upon to sing in public. She says she is able to sing even in languages she doesn’t speak. She has a penchant for ballads and will only choose melodies that call to her. Making it a point to read the translations, she says “Only when I’m touched by the song I can sing.”