Delia Domingo Albert (born August 11, 1942) is a Filipina career diplomat who served as the first female Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs from December 22, 2003 to August 18, 2004. She was also the first woman career diplomat to serve as foreign minister of a Southeast Asian country.

Career

Albert received a bachelor's degree in international relations from the

University of the Philippines Diliman , image = University of The Philippines seal.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = Official Logo of UP Diliman , motto = Honor and Excellence , established = February 12, 194 ...

before studying at a number of institutions overseas including the

Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies The Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, or the Geneva Graduate Institute (french: Institut de hautes études internationales et du développement), abbreviated IHEID, is a government-accredited postgraduate institution ...

in Geneva and

Harvard Kennedy School The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

. Albert's career in the Department of Foreign Affairs began as an Assistant in the Office of the Secretary of Foreign Affairs in 1967. In 1969 Albert began serving in various capacities in Filipino diplomatic missions abroad: at the delegation to the United Nations in

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

(1969–1975), at the embassy in

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

which also managed Filipino relations with

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

and

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

(1975–1980) and at the embassy in

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr r ...

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

(1982–1990). From 1990 to 1995, Albert worked in the Philippines at the Department of Foreign Affairs where she was the director general of the

ASEAN ASEAN ( , ), officially the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a political and economic union of 10 member states in Southeast Asia, which promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, militar ...

. In 1995 she was posted to the Philippine Embassy in Canberra as Ambassador to Australia (with concurrent accreditation to

Nauru Nauru ( or ; na, Naoero), officially the Republic of Nauru ( na, Repubrikin Naoero) and formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country and microstate in Oceania, in the Central Pacific. Its nearest neighbour is Banaba Island in Ki ...

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of no ...

and

Tuvalu Tuvalu ( or ; formerly known as the Ellice Islands) is an island country and microstate in the Polynesian subregion of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean. Its islands are situated about midway between Hawaii and Australia. They lie east-northeast ...

), a post she held until 2002. She also served as Dean of the Diplomatic Corps in 2001. Before her appointment on 22 December 2003 as Secretary of Foreign Affairs, she served as Undersecretary for International Economic Relations and Philippine Senior Official for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). Albert was Ambassador to Germany from 2005 to 2010. Albert was appointed Knight Commander Cross of the Order of Merit with Star of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1992 for her efforts in promoting Philippine relations with Germany as well as relations between ASEAN and the European Union. She served as Director-General of the ASEAN National Secretariat of the Philippines. In January 2004, President

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal Arroyo (, born April 5, 1947), often referred to by her initials GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician serving as one of the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines, House Deputy Spe ...

conferred on her the

Order of Sikatuna The Order of Sikatuna ( fil, Orden ng Sikatuna) is the national order of diplomatic merit of the Republic of the Philippines. It is conferred upon individuals who have rendered exceptional and meritorious services to the Republic of the Philipp ...

, with the rank of Datu, for her exceptional and meritorious services to the Republic of the Philippines.

Personal life

Albert is married to journalist Hans Albert, a German national, to which they have one daughter together. The couple splits their time between the Philippines and Germany, where they also maintain a home in

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...

. In addition to English and Filipino, as well as her native Ilocano, Albert also speaks German, French, Romanian, Spanish and Japanese.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Albert, Delia 1942 births Living people University of the Philippines Diliman alumni Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies alumni Secretaries of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines Women members of the Cabinet of the Philippines Ambassadors of the Philippines to Australia Ambassadors of the Philippines to Germany Knights Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Ambassadors of the Philippines to Nauru Ambassadors of the Philippines to Vanuatu Ambassadors of the Philippines to Tuvalu Harvard Kennedy School alumni Female foreign ministers Filipino expatriates in the United States Arroyo administration cabinet members 21st-century Filipino women politicians 21st-century Filipino politicians Filipino women ambassadors