J. Paslauskas: An ambassador was interpreting for his president without knowing a single word of Lithuanian

SUMMARY

Ambassador Jonas Paslauskas — former head of diplomatic and state protocol — recalls welcoming French President François Mitterrand to Lithuania. As he boarded the plane, Paslauskas realized that addressing the president in English would look inappropriate, yet he did not speak French. He quickly arranged a workaround with the French ambassador: Paslauskas would speak Lithuanian, and the French ambassador would render only what he deemed necessary into French. Mitterrand immediately sensed the trick and, smiling, asked his ambassador whether Paslauskas truly understood Lithuanian.
In his conversation with Artūras Jonkus, Paslauskas reflected on how he became the MFA’s chief of protocol, the first visits of foreign leaders to Lithuania, the everyday realities of protocol work, and the biggest challenges of that formative period.

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