A new kind of embassy

Dear reader,

For a while, I worked at the Swiss embassy in Athens. At the time, it occupied three floors of an apartment building that was centrally located but still quiet and next to a monastery.

My former colleagues (unlike the diplomatic and consular staff, the local employees do not rotate) have been working in a new embassy building since the beginning of June. It is even more centrally located in the venerable Plaka neighbourhood, below the Acropolis.

What makes it extra special is not just the prestigious location but the fact that it rubs shoulders with the Swiss School of Archaeology in Greece (ESAG) and the Flux Laboratory cultural foundation. This so-called “Maison suisse” is therefore more than an administrative building.

“It sees itself as a Swiss house of culture, research and diplomacy,” the Swiss foreign ministry wrote to me in response to an inquiry.

This is a novelty in Switzerland’s external diplomatic network. Such formats are common for temporary initiatives, for example at World’s fairs or the Olympics. There are also institutions such as the Palazzo Trevisan in Venice, which serves as a Swiss platform for culture and research. However, these are not embassies.

It is still unclear whether the “Maison suisse” will set a precedent in other countries. However, the foreign ministry seems to be open to the possibility. Using synergies between diplomacy, science and culture is a good fit for today’s Swiss foreign policy, it says. There is potential given that Switzerland has a comparatively large and dense network of representations abroad – with over 170 branch offices, it ranks among the top 20 worldwide.

From my former office I had a good view of the monastery. Do my former colleagues now actually have a view of the Acropolis? It would almost make me regret that I became a journalist…

Have you had any interesting experiences at an embassy? As always, you can write to me on [e-mail]

Best regards,

Giannis Mavris

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