Herawati Diah’s cultural diplomacy: redefining the role of adiplomat’s spouse in 1950s–1960s Indonesia

This article explores the cultural diplomacy undertaken by HerawatiDiah, a former journalist and women’s activist who, as the wife ofAmbassador B.M. Diah, leveraged informal spaces to advanceIndonesia’s national interests in Czechoslovakia-Hungary, theUnited Kingdom, and Thailand. Far from considering her role asmerely ceremonial, Herawati Diah perceived her position asstrategically significant in executing public diplomacy. Shepositioned herself as her husband’s professional partner,employing cultural diplomacy strategies to introduce, strengthen,and ease diplomatic relations between Indonesia and othernations. This study argues that Herawati Diah’s informal andculturally rooted diplomatic initiatives significantly contributed topromoting Indonesia’s national interests, both with allied nationsand those in tension with Indonesia, on the international stage