YT20 | This Austrian Diplomat Shares His “James Bond” Life Story

Meet David Bachmann. He’s the Austrian Trade Commissioner for Singapore. In this heart-to-heart conversation with David we dive into the less glamorous reality of diplomatic life, challenging stereotypes of luxury. Bachmann shares experiences from his various diplomatic postings, including a vivid account of his time in Libya during the civil war.

The episode highlights the importance of family dynamics and the complexities of raising children in different cultures. With a focus on business in Asia, Bachmann sheds light on the challenges and opportunities for Austrian companies in Singapore, emphasizing the city-state’s significance as a hub.

Discussion Topics: This Austrian Diplomat Shares His “James Bond” Life Story

• (00:00) Introducing the Diplomat: David Bachmann, the Austrian Trade Commissioner for Singapore.
• (01:21) Reality of Diplomatic Life: Hard work, long hours, and dedication, both in the office and during various social events.
• (03:08) Role of a Trade Commissioner: Assisting Austrian companies in Singapore, acting as a troubleshooter when needed.
• (04:32) Diplomatic Postings: Sweden, Portugal, Mexico City, Libya, and now Singapore. 
• (06:02) Living in Libya during a Civil War: When the worst surroundings become normal.
• (10:42) Challenges of raising a family in Diplomatic Life: It’s important to give children roots and a sense of belonging.
• (13:08) Business Perspective on Singapore: A hub for Austrian companies in Asia.
• (20:47) Messages for Young Adults: Embrace art, prioritize health, and be a hedonist by enjoying the finer things in life.
• (24:11) Closing Remarks

Transcript: This Austrian Diplomat Shares His “James Bond” Life Story

Yana Fry: Welcome to another episode of YanaTV, where we have heart to heart conversations with movers and shakers of Asia. And today we have a truly unusual and very interesting guest. David Bachmann, is Austrian Trade Commissioner for Singapore. And we are going to talk about the life of a diplomat. David. Thank you so much for showing up in the studio today.

When I hear that someone is a diplomat I’m thinking about James Bond, suits cutting ribbons, meeting presidents, going to events. Is that what the life of a diplomat is?

David Bachmann: fIrst of all, thanks for having me, Yana. And to start with that, I think it’s less glorious than you might imagine. Part of it, it’s true, like the shootings and going by plane, jumping off a parachute. No, just kidding.

Yana Fry: You just got me here, I was believing it.

David Bachmann: Just to tell you, I’m just at a conference with 250 participants in Singapore. And it was really hard work for over a year. Working weekends, working late every evening.

At the same time, receiving Austrian companies, advising them. So that’s the less glorious part of it. So it’s really hard work in the office. But then, of course, you also have cocktail receptions, you have dinners, you have to go out, you have to meet people. Our job is a lot to interact with people, to speak to people, and to build a network.

Because, after all, we are serving our country with our network that we build up, and provide this network to whoever needs it coming from Austria, and also vice versa. it’s a bit also if you have that, let’s say if you have one week where every evening you have an evening reception.

Believe me, after the third evening reception, you’re done. You feel like, really don’t want to have I don’t want to have the fourth one. And, I remember a nice story, especially in Singapore, everything is about fine dining, and if people from abroad come. So I think I had, I know , three or four days in a row fine dining lunch and fine dining evening, which of course was also work because, talk to people.

It’s meeting business persons. Then on the fourth day there was a journalist who was completely excited. We went to a nice restaurant. This is so fantastic. So great. You’re so lucky. And I was like honestly, Oh yeah.

I am fed up with that stuff already. This sounds a bit like saying, over the top, but it really feels no, I, I just want to have my peace.

Yana Fry: maybe not very boring, but not too exciting. Something in between. I get it.

David Bachmann: Our work work as a trade commissioner is…

It’s bringing together business people, helping Austrian companies setting foot in Singapore, helping them get over obstacles, and helping them find the right business partners. Yeah, and also once they are here and they face problems being the troubleshooter for them. And this can be from, I don’t know, my business partner hasn’t paid me.

Please help us.

Yana Fry: Whatever trouble there is, it’s like a one stop shop. We try to simply make our companies happy and in the end help Austrian companies get internationalised.

David Bachmann:  For Austria, I would say. 60 percent of all our jobs depend on our international, let’s say about exports and internationalisation. And that’s where our companies need us also. And if you look at the structure of the Austrian economy, it’s mostly SMEs.

And they often don’t have the financial and manpower to have offices all over the world. So we are at their office in Prinzla, I would say.

Yana Fry: This sounds like a very difficult job. So thank you for doing the job. Actually I appreciate that. and I know that before Singapore you have also been at other postings.

So what places have lived?

David Bachmann: It started in Sweden, in Stockholm, and where I was sent to because I declared I never want to go to Scandinavia.

So that’s when they said, Okay, let’s see how you’re gonna work there. And so it was good, because after that, I lost the fear of any posting where I didn’t want to go there.

So the continuous posting was Stockholm, Sweden, then Lisbon, Portugal, Mexico city in Mexico Tripoli in Libya, and now Singapore. let’s say before Singapore was five years in Vienna in Austria, And before that was Libya. Yeah. Six years in Libya.

Yana Fry: interesting stories about Libya? How is life in Libya, especially diplomat life?

David Bachmann: Mean, Libya had everything. First of all, it’s Very close to Europe. So you feel the European culture there also from the ancient Greeks in the east and the Romans in the west. It’s a really fantastic country

You had safety, you had no pollution, few cars, But let’s say it’s, it was two, I would say two postings in one posting because I was there during the time of Gaddafi. So that was the time it was just described. And then I was there also during the revolution.

I drove out the last Austrians over the land border and had to evacuate. That’s the James Bond part. I was there also during the NATO bombardment in Tripoli. And then came the part where Libya was in mayhem.

There were the different factions fighting each other and, you woke up in the morning to some I don’t know, bomb explosions or you heard they also, they blew up at that time. I remember the French embassy was blown up.

The U. S. ambassador was killed. It was really a rough time. And I’ve been living there for two and a half years. The family had to leave at that time. So I was really there on my own. But it’s like with everything, when you live, you wonder sometimes why. People, how people can live like these days in Afghanistan.

And if you ask them, they say that’s normal life here. let’s say in Afghanistan. Many people tell me that’s a normal life or in, in many parts of sub Saharan Africa. And this is what I felt there also, that even the… The worst surrounding after a couple of months feels like that’s your home and that’s simply normal.

It’s normal. You hear shootings at night and I realised then when I was already towards the end of my posting that I had the director general of the large, actually the only oil company in Austria, come for a visit. And I had lunch at my place and at that time everybody came with their personal protection and protected cars.

So they came to my place and then the bodyguards came to me at one moment and asked Mr. Bachman what’s going on there? The two guys with a rifle next door. And, they look like, camouflaged and everything. I said, oh no, that’s just the guys from the 37th Brigade, they’re the snipers, they’re just looking towards the other brigade if they find something.

So… So it’s normal. for you it feels normal, but you have to watch out also for your family. I remember at that time my kids, they were at that time something like 6, eight, ten years old. So the oldest one was around ten or eleven years old. And yeah, at one point he gave me something because I was often in Vienna. Then I’m in a commute, it’s every, say, second, third weekend, and one weekend

He painted the flowers for me and gave it to me and said, ” yeah, that’s for you, daddy, and said, oh, that’s very nice, Luca, he said, yeah, that’s an amulet for you, so that you can, that you come back alive.

Having your child. That’s really where I think maybe that’s a bit too much because I also got abducted there. And I remember also, after the abduction, it was that I called a very close friend there. There were not so many Austrians there, but one Austrian was there. And I told him what happened, because, the brigade, after two days, they let me go.

They beat me up a bit, but I’m still, still okay. And then I called him and I told him, listen, Stefan, this and that happened. I have to ask you now, do you think this is something strong now? Or is it still within our normal life here? No, I think that’s pretty bad.

It sounds like I’m very wise, but it’s always like that. You yourself, you think you’re never gonna die. you,People often think this. Yes, you think you’re invincible until you die.

And it’s only others who can tell you to listen, this is you’re in danger. You’re in a danger zone. and you have to get out and This is what happened then. And yeah, I got out and I’m sitting here today. and yeah.

Yana Fry: Singapore. probably one of the, Definitely much safer countries.

David Bachmann: So after Libya, I became part of our management team. And yeah, I’m sure this was due to the fact that you simply you show up here,

Yana Fry: You survive in a difficult country in a difficult time. Yes, listening to you, I’m getting confirmation that the life of a diplomat is definitely not as glamorous as people often think about. And maybe what you said depends on the posting and depends on what you do. But absolutely could be a real life danger. And then also if you’re a family man, which you are, and then as a parent, you have to communicate with your kids and how they feel about it and they grow up. And so when you came to Singapore, I assume that also children probably came here and continue education here. as a father, and that’s, it’s not just for diplomatic families. As any expert family that moves around with children and then have to deal with kids growing up in different schools and changing friends all the time, going to different cultures, maybe languages also. How was your experience?

David Bachmann: I think it’s very difficult with Children. First of all,

Also, this sounds very glamorous, right? You go abroad, your kids are abroad, they’re in international schools and they grow up with different languages. And then once the kids are grown up, you feel like, okay, so where do the kids belong to?

So also here in Singapore, wherever it is, in many places of the world, you have friends, let’s say here also, you have many couples, they’re both Austrians and the kids. They don’t have to do anything with Austria anymore because they’ve grown up in or grew up in Australia, Singapore, they say we only go back for holiday for skiing maybe or for some holiday, but in principle we’re, whatever, Singaporeans or Australians.

So it’s very difficult to, in this surrounding, to give the kids roots.

All together, if you look now at the oldest one, He has been abroad for altogether, I think, eight years, 10 years. the rest of the time they’ve been in Austria. they’re branded Austrians and I think this is important because if you don’t have roots, if you don’t have one country where you belong to, you always wander around in life you search for where is your home and I’m sure you also know many people many examples where they, they change from one place to the other, and in the end, they’re not not happy anywhere. They keep searching. for schooling, they always went to the French school, which

Yana Fry: also give them the stability, wherever we are, there’s always a French school.

David Bachmann: And that’s your

Yana Fry: Like a little world inside the world, right?

it’s very interesting because so you were saying that sort of children moving, Right when they’re young and it’s like a Maybe it’s down grow up and I’m thinking to myself, okay, so I grew up in one country and I went to the full education system there, university, it’s just one country.

And I left when I was 21. And then I travelled for the last time. I travelled to different countries and they still feel I’m not sure what my identity is. It’s interesting. I identify more as a Singaporean right

David Bachmann: Ah, do you?

Yana Fry: Okay. I’m also Singaporean right now, right?

So it’s interesting for me to listen to what they find with their identity. It’s a tricky one. It also depends where you end up living a big part of your adult life. And I know, I heard it from other diplomats who are my friends,

When you live this life, it’s also very important to go home from time to time. Like for your own Yes. A compass that is right. so that you also remember okay, I’m from Austria and this is how we do things. And then you go

David Bachmann: I think it’s absolutely necessary to go back from time to time and that’s also why normally between the postings we are ordered back and we stay for a couple of years in Austria.

Of course, it is important so that okay, what is The culture of your organisation, what has changed here. What is happening in Austria and especially in Singapore? You’re really far away. You have six in winter, a seven hour time difference.

And this coming back to the 24 7 that’s also interesting in Asia. Now in Mexico, you woke up and already sometimes six in the morning, you had calls from Europe, people wanting something. And then in the afternoon, slowly it faded out.

And here it’s the opposite. In the morning, everybody’s sleeping in Europe, right?

So it’s starting slowly. And then, people call me sometimes from HQ, get calls. One morning, they asked me, what time is it with you? So it’s really here. It’s always getting very late in the Western Hemisphere.

you have to adapt also your routine, your daily life and be prepared, for instance, here in Asia that especially when it’s a time where I have many visits and delegations that you don’t have a free evening because that’s when people expect and, mostly in Austria, I would say mostly, but I would say you also get this cliche that I think.

Oh he’s in Singapore. Oh warm, sunny all year round. Yeah, we can call him at 7, 8 in the evening. And anyway, he’s only lying on the beach. And it depends on the destination. In Tripoli, nobody asked me if I was lying on the beach, especially during the two and a half years of the civil war.

Yana Fry: I didn’t think, I never thought about it. So thank you for saying this is like an interesting, little insight of what people think. So when you come to Singapore, I’m just curious, what was your first impression?

David Bachmann: I came to Singapore already at the age of 2021, the first time. was not the first time. And that impression of that time was.

you came here. stayed for one day because you went to Orchard Road, bought the latest camera model and the latest lenses for your electronic equipment for half price, then it was in Europe.

And then you continue to whatever, Bali, Thailand, in the eighties, nineties, Singapore was a, I say, very much British expat community here. People would really like this cliche, sit around in les have their syntonic a bit more if I may

Very much I would say. And this has changed very much. It has become very Singaporean. I call it the bubble, the Marina Bay bubble.

And this is also my impression, actually when I was, the family, we decided to come to Singapore. I was in a restaurant that might not be level 33 in the financial centre. And you look down on the bay area and you’re like, wow, that’s a city really? That’s what you did, right? Yes. How glamorous, how, that’s a real city.

And then you come here and you realise that’s a big show, right? And also coming here, that’s the real Singapore, right? Bukit Merah. And that’s where you have HDBs. That’s where you have hawker stores. Yeah. And then I realised that okay, I was I went into the

You were sold the idea. This thing exists, of course, this modern and fancy and glittery.

But also, even 90 percent of Singapore is different. And so I experienced this Singapore slowly and also during COVID. You remember me for two and a half years. You couldn’t go anywhere. So you discover every little corner of Singapore and then you really discover what Singapore is like and all the social phenomenons here and yeah, how people are really living and that they’re not going fine dining every lunch and every dinner.

They couldn’t, most people couldn’t afford also here. Yeah, so that was my aha or the thing I’m…

Yana Fry: Just like a diplomat, job life in Singapore is not always as glamorous as people outside of Singapore might think.

Um, from a business point of view, So since right, Austrian Trade Commissioner helping businesses, coming here. I’m just curious, like with all your experience and helping actually those people to integrate the and How is that from a business perspective?

like coming to Asia and maybe especially to Singapore and opening Like what? What have you noticed?

David Bachmann:  Of all, we have seen it was really the hub for Austrian companies in Asia. Especially this now with China being a bit troublesome and simply the rise of Singapore, right? Getting a lot of attraction from ASEAN countries rather than Hong Kong is getting less attraction.

Many companies will come from Hong Kong. So I would say that’s the place to be in Asia. And for the Austrian companies, to open a bank account. If you’re a foreign company, that’s, it takes a year.

And that’s what people are like, Oh, wow, really, that’s, that takes so long. And so a lot of red tape there but on the other end, of course, many things are very easy and yeah, they appreciate the transparency on corruption in a country that has a high growth rate, especially if compared to other parts of the world these days.

But the big part is where the costs are, how am I financing that? And like property prices have skyrocketed. Especially since 2020. Yes, exactly. COVID had a really hard impact there. I’m sure you remember that there were many Teachers here and, simple middle management or the middle class from abroad, working here, making money for a couple of years, then going back again and having saved quite a considerable amount.

That’s possible anymore with property prices and simply in general, Singapore being an expensive place. And this is the biggest challenge for a company seeing that Singapore is a Very innovative country. It offers a lot of possibilities. But it doesn’t come for free. So you need to be you need to have you need to be willing to invest in that and know that this will cost you something.

Yana Fry: The final question for today. Since we talk a lot about family and care. when  you look at your children, they are young adults, and the future ahead of them and where you what message would you like to share with them and everyone who is like them?

David Bachmann: I think I would, but not only I would, but I also did Give them three messages or kind of three

Yana Fry: Okay. Please tell us.

David Bachmann: Yeah. The first one I would say is to get into art. Into art? Art. Okay. I think art is one of the most important things in life. Be it whatever, it can be music, it can be architecture, it can be paintings, just get yourself in this just vast area of life.

And it can be so rewarding, it can help you in difficult situations, it can produce a lot of joy and it’s simply a field that never ends.

And simply have a very enjoyable life with art in your mind and living with it.

and I am very happy that I would say two at least of the three have found also their art and where they got into it and because we also always took them to places where we found art, um, the second thing is be aware that in the end,

your body is the ultimate weapon. And this means investing in your health. Watch your body. See the signs when your body goes weak or collapses. And be aware that this is your most tangible asset you have.

So that will be the second advice. And last but not least be a hedonist. Enjoy nice things in life. Go to fancy restaurants, go to nice hotels. It’s

Yana Fry: life to the fullest, as much as you can. Exactly. Experience it. Exactly. This is what we’re talking about. Experience it.

David Bachmann: And also, there’s always, you your level in life where you say, this is what I can finance. You have 400, and you want to go to a hotel. Would you spend four nights in a 100 hotel or two nights in a 200 hotel?

What would give you more joy? And from my point of view, I think the two nights in the 200 hotel would give you more joy.

You can, you can alter it to 50, 50,000, depending on what your possibilities are. But I simply want to say try to get the nicer things out of life.

I don’t know, those three advisors are completely different from Reed and be humble or whatever, but I think that’s

Yana Fry: I : think it’s really called that.

So I think that your kids are really lucky to have you as their father and I’m sure they have wonderful children. And David, you so much for joining us today. It was a very unusual and insightful interview. And to our audience. Thank you for joining us and for watching David Bachman on Yanatv. We would love to hear from you guys. Do we have any other business people? Do we have diplomats who are watching us? So please let us know in the comment, let’s connect.

You can connect with David. Of course, we’re going to provide all the links and I would like to say a special thank you to the Muse Studio for hosting YanaTV. We love being here. And the most important thing is to remember to subscribe to the channel and share this episode with friends and I will see you next time.