Darius Degutis: first-ever Lithuanian Ambassador to Australia
Lithuania’s first-ever ambassador to Australia, Darius Degutis, leaves quarantine in Melbourne today, headed to the first Lithuanian Embassy in Canberra.
Nida Degutienė and Darius Degutis
Ambassador-designate Degutis is a senior government executive with experience in a variety of major foreign and security policy issues, including ambassadorial postings in Australia, Israel, South Africa, Poland as well as senior diplomatic postings in the Embassies in the U.S.A., Denmark and numerous assignments in the Lithuanian diplomatic service.
He is setting up the first Lithuanian Embassy in Australia with a number of objectives: developing a wide relationship with Australia, including political and economic targets as well as maintaining strong connections with the Australian Lithuanian and Lithuanian Jewish community.
Mr Degutis has had excellent business and cultural associations, particularly with the Jewish communities in both Israel and South Africa. In Australia, South African born Jews, about 95% Litvak, make up 13.5% of the Australian Jewish community, and Israelis 6.8% (2016 Census). Indeed, many Australian born Jews have Litvak heritage or family connections.
He has worked exceptionally well with the newly appointed Israeli Ambassador, Amir Maimon. This will be of great benefit to Australia, Israel and Lithuania.
Degutis’s wife, Nida Degutienė, is a well-known lawyer, blogger and photographer, and has published two award-winning cookbooks. Her culinary book, A Taste of Israel, was published in 2014 and was one of the Top 10 nonfiction bestsellers in Lithuania. Nida’s second book, Fish in the Kitchens of the World, was published in 2018 and sold out.
Darius and Nida come to a vastly different Australia to the one my family and I came to in 1986, and they are likely to have great success in the Lucky Country.
