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THE ART OF DIPLOMACY Sophia MCINTYRE (1990
by sceggs
Sophia MCINTYRE (1990)
Diplomat and Old Girl Sophia MCINTYRE (1990) is currently Australia’s Ambassador to Spain. Although appointed to this role amidst the pandemic, it has proven to be the right decision for Sophia who enjoys an exciting and interesting role that sees her oscillating between meeting senior government officials to partaking in royal ceremonies.
What have you been up to since graduating from SCEGGS in 1990?
I studied arts/law at Sydney University and also took a gap year to travel and take a break from study. I was always interested in a public service policy role, rather than a career in law and straight after university I worked at the NSW Attorney General’s Department. While there, I applied for the graduate program at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and things have really flowed on from there. I was accepted into the class of 1999, moved from Sydney to Canberra and have worked with DFAT ever since.
The beauty of a career with DFAT is that you can experience such a diversity of roles and responsibilities within the same job. It really is a process of lifelong learning. In my career, I’ve worked on many different themes, ranging from traditional foreign policy issues, like arms control and our relationships within the Indo-Pacific, to graduate recruitment, development of the New Colombo Plan and breaking down barriers to the promotion of women within the department. I’ve worked for a foreign minister in Parliament House and had postings in Brazil and Sri Lanka, as well as undertaken extended assignments based in Germany and Greece.
My husband is also with DFAT and prior to moving to Spain, we spent several years living in Warsaw for his role as Ambassador to Poland. I was able to take leave without pay during this time (which was great as our daughter was just two years old when we arrived) but also pick up interesting jobs in the region whenever DFAT needed extra hands on board.
We had a brief stint back in Canberra before I was offered the role in Spain. It was a big step to uproot the family again so quickly and by the time we moved, the pandemic had hit but we were determined to take up the opportunity. We arrived in Madrid in mid-2020, shortly after the devastating first wave of the pandemic in Spain.
What does your role as Ambassador to Spain entail?
As Ambassador to Spain, I represent Australia in Spain, Andorra and Equatorial Guinea and head up our Embassy in Madrid. It’s a fabulous job which is shaped by a range of factors, including drivers in the bilateral relationship (advocating for Australian interests in Spain, like trade and investment, managing high level visits, etc.), global developments (eg co-operating on responses to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and multilateral issues), building Australia’s profile and influence and responding to consular needs, including in the event of a crisis.
Within the Embassy in Madrid, we also have Defence and Austrade offices and we work closely together to ensure our approaches and priorities are well aligned to support Australian interests.
It’s an enormously varied and exciting job. One day I might be presenting to businesses in Barcelona and the next, meeting with senior Spanish government officials or hosting a reception for a high profile Australian visitor. I have scope to really shape the work I do and influence growth in the bilateral relationship, which is both interesting and rewarding. We’ve seen very good growth in the two-way investment relationship in recent years and I work closely with Australian and Spanish businesses to encourage and foster this as well as identify any challenges or potential obstacles.
How has learning a language other than English added value to your career?
I have to confess that I didn’t star at languages in high school and I didn’t end up taking any languages in my final years. DFAT has a great system of language training though, so before I started my first posting in Brazil, I was able to study Portuguese full time for about nine or ten months, including a couple of months study based in Brazil.
Having Portuguese gave me a head start with Spanish. I wasn’t able to undertake full language training for my posting to Spain and my Spanish skills are still a work in progress, but it is really essential to speak and understand Spanish to live and work here. Plus it’s a beautiful language! I find that speaking the language of a country gives you additional insights and familiarity which can be indispensable in diplomacy.
No doubt living and working overseas brings about wonderful opportunities. What has been your “wow” moment?
That’s a hard one to answer as there have been a few. Most recently, in conjunction with his attendance at the NATO Summit in Madrid, it was receiving Prime Minister Albanese in Madrid for the first bilateral visit to Spain by an Australian Prime Minister.
The presentation of credentials – which is where you are formally received as Australia’s representative by the
country of accreditation – is also always a thrill. For Spain, I presented credentials to King Filipe VI at the royal palace. They put on a truly beautiful ceremony with full royal pomp. Andorra is the only country in the world where you present credentials twice, to the President of France and the Bishop of Lleida in northern Spain, so I travelled to Paris to meet President Macron before journeying to the Pyrenees to present to the Bishop.
But other moments are really connected to the insights and opportunities which accompany living and working in another country. I was invited to see an incredible private art collection in São Paulo when I was posted in Brazil, which has always stayed with me as an unforgettable experience. While in Sri Lanka I was present for the final period of the civil conflict, which was a violent and difficult time, but also historic and deeply affecting. I also had the privilege of attending the release of rehabilitated orphaned baby elephants into the wild in southern Sri Lanka, which was truly joyous!
What advice would you give to current students hoping to work in politics/ international affairs?
There are many different qualifications which can lead you into a career in international affairs. I would say the main requirement is to develop strong policy and communication skills – writing well and expressing complex ideas clearly and succinctly is essential. Language skills help too.
Many graduates starting at DFAT have degrees in international relations, law or public policy, but the department is also always interested in economic skills and can offer a very interesting career path in trade and international economics. That said, I’ve met DFAT graduates who are qualified in archaeology, medicine and engineering, so there’s no strict formula. It definitely helps to have more than a single undergraduate degree to be competitive in recruitment processes.
There are also various avenues into the profession. The graduate program is a great way to join as it provides an intensive cycle of training and placements to prepare young diplomats, but many successful diplomats join the department through other recruitment processes at a later stage of their career, often from other federal government departments or international organisations. Others might consult to the department as development specialists or academics. There are many different options.
I’d encourage students to be curious about international developments, to listen to all the great podcasts on international relations that are available today, travel independently and build a depth of knowledge about the world and the challenges Australia faces today and into the future.
