Sessions
India and I – A Personal Bond
Diana Mickevičienė with Anushka Jasraj
Two Ambassadors Walk Into a Lit Fest
Diana Mickevičienė and Firat Sunel with Ramjee Chandran
Bio
Diana Mickevičienė is the Ambassador of the Republic of Lithuania to the Republic of India. Prior to this posting, she was the Ambassador of Lithuania to China between 2020-2022. She is a career diplomat with 28 years of experience in Lithuania‘s diplomatic service, having served previously as the Counsellor at the Permanent Representation of Lithuania at the Council of Europe, Strasbourg, and the Minister Counsellor (Deputy Head of Mission) at Lithuania‘s Embassy in India. She has also spent a number of years at the Latin America, Africa, Asia and Pacific Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, before being appointed Ambassador to China in 2020.
Diana Mickevičienė holds a BA of Philosophy, a MA of History of culture and social anthropology and a Diploma in International relations (all from Vilnius University). She has also been a lecturer on South Asian history at the Institute of Asian and Transcultural studies of Vilnius University and is involved in India studies. In 2011 she published her first book All of My Indias, a combination of the diary of her studies in India, her social observations and her academic knowledge in Indian studies. She has also published a number of academic articles in Indian studies, including Indo-European studies, studies of classical Indian dance and historical relations between India and Lithuania.
While on her previous diplomatic posting in India in 2011-2014, Diana Mickevičienė took special interest in researching historical links between Lithuania and India, especially the Indian chapter of life of the famous Lithuanian traveller and scholar Antanas Paškevičius – Poška who came to India on a motorbike in 1931 and spent 5 years studying and working at the University of Bombay, the University of Calcutta and the Indian Museum in Calcutta. As a result of this research Poška was granted a doctoral degree (post mortem) by the University of Calcutta in 2014 for his contribution to Indian studies and Lithuania-India relations.
Diana Mickevičienė is fluent in English, French, Russian, advanced beginner in Hindi and Spanish and has completed a beginner course of Mandarin and studied Sanskrit at the University. Her hobbies include reading, travelling, Asian history and cultures, history of Lithuania and Vilnius city.