Sue Boyd - Deputy Head of Mission at the Australian Embassy in East Berlin (151)

Nov 28, 2020

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Sue Boyd has been the head of Australian diplomatic missions in Fiji, Hong Kong, Vietnam and Bangladesh. She also had postings at the United Nations in New York and in the former East Germany.

Sue was posted to East Germany in 1976 and tells of her work, friendships, and life as a single woman in the diplomatic community of 1970s East Berlin. She reveals the fascinating contents of her Stasi file, detailing the intense surveillance she was under as well as confirmation of some of her suspicions, but also there are some surprising revelations too.

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I am delighted to welcome Sue Boyd to our Cold War conversation…

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Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated – goodbye.

Radio GDR

If you are interested in East Germany we can highly recommend our friends over at Radio GDR.

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0:00 Introduction of Sue Boyd and her diplomatic career

1:17 Sue Boyd's postings at the United Nations and East Germany

3:19 Sue Boyd's early career in the Australian foreign service

6:01 Sue Boyd's unexpected posting to East Germany and role as 1st secretary

9:07 Sue Boyd's travel experiences and surveillance by Stasi