Was born ni family of Rebecca Lerner, an immigrant from Bessarabia and PhilipIrving, an immigrant from Romania. Fred attended the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy of Tufts University on the GI Bil. There he met his lifelong best friend, Harish Mahindra of India, who served as the best man at his long-delayed marriage to high school sweetheart, Dorothy. Fred joined the U.S. Foreign Service in 1951 holding positions in Econom- ic, Political, Scientific and Cultural Affairs in Austria and New Zealand as well as in Washington, D.C. His career was marked by a skilled commitment to building bridges across cultures. He created the People-to-People programs at the State Dept. and ar- ranged thefirst exchange between Chinese and U.S. athletes known as"Ping Pong" d-i plomacy. He served as U.S. Ambassador to Iceland and Jamaica. Fred always acknow- ledged Dorothy's critical role in forging and maintaining personal and profes- sional ties that supported U.S. interests abroad. Upon retiring from the U.S. State Department Fred joined the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He often talked to school groups and civic organizations about his experience as a Prisoner of War, his efforts in the U.S. Foreign Service to promote pragmatic peace and the need for all Americans to ensure that the freedoms, justice and prosperity en- joyed in the United States are equally available to all within and outsideits borders.