Team Player Liechtensteinís Manfred Fritsche Understands What It Takes to Work Together by Gail Scott Liechtenstein, with just around 34,000 inhabitants in its 60 square miles, is one of the tiniest countries represented in Washington. But this royal principalityís ambassadorial couple have made quite an impression, forging lasting friendships all over town. Although Ambassador Claudia Fritsche admits to being a ìnatural diplomatî from the time she was a little girl, her handsome husband Manfred Fritsche is happiest running his own international business, playing soccer or standing over the barbecue, even in the snow. ìIím not a born diplomat,î Manfred admitted. ìI hate to dress up for only two hours,î he said, referring to the nightly diplomatic merry-go-round of receptions and national day celebrations. Nevertheless, the Fritsches, who have been together now for 34 years, have always loved to entertainówhether it was in Australia as young adventurers living abroad or in New York and Washington as Liechtensteinís first family in America. ìI attend more to protocol,î Claudia said, ìand Manfred can put our guests at ease and make them feel welcome, especially for ëfirst timersíî coming to the official residence. When they entertain privately, you can almost always find Manfred in charge of the grill. ìHe loves to barbecue, rain or shine, summer or winter,î the ambassador said. ìHe grills meat, vegetables, and I do the rest. ìWe work as a team,î Claudia added. ìAnd thatís important since we come from a small countryóitís an advantage to have two people. Manfred usually leaves a lasting impression,î she said with a smile. ìHe usually talks his mind and Iím a bit more polished in my professional conversation, but he is frank and honest Ö and he has a lot of enthusiasm.î ìSometimes I have to bite my lips, my tongue,î said Manfred, ìespecially here in Washington. In New York when Claudia was at the U.N., we could find ourselves at a dinner party with 20 people and 18 of them would be from other countries. It was very international. Here, we are mostly with Americans and it is not as international.î While his wife handles her official duties from her downtown office, Manfred works from their spacious gray-stone house. Jumping from time zone to time zone, he sells some of the worldís most sought-after specialty meats from one continent to another. In the mornings, he talks to his European clients, who are five to six hours ahead of the United States, and each afternoon he speaks to the meat producers he represents in New Zealand and Australia, who are 12 hours ahead of us. ìI could live in Alaska and do my work,î Manfred said. ìToday it is so much easier than when I started in 1983. My first fax [machine] cost me $3,000!î Now, with everyone using e-mail, global phones, and better yet cheaper computers and fax machines, Manfredís international business is not as difficult to run. ìI sell only meat and only lamb and farmed venisonóvery special products with only one to three exclusive importers in each country,î he said, noting, ìI donít do any business in the U.S.î This Austrian native who studied marketing and the food business in college often combines his work-related travel with that of his wifeís official visits back home. Recently, he escorted the spouses of a congressional delegation around Liechtenstein while the ambassador attended to the congressional membersí official program. Their distinctly different lives combined with their joy of being together have kept these two very independent people interested in each other for more than three decades. ìI always knew I wanted to go far away, but I always knew I never wanted to stay away,î said Manfred, who grew up five miles from the Liechtenstein border in the little town of Satteins, Austria. When Manfred graduated from nearby Feldkirch College, the economy was in such a boom that he had had a dozen job offers, as did all of his friends. ìBut this world was too small for me and I knew I had to leave,î he said. ìIn those days, countries such as Australia, South Africa and Canada would pay your way to immigrate. Since Canada was too cold and South Africa too politically unstable, Australia, being far away and hot, was it.î Manfred and Claudia met at a traditional Saturday night dance in Mauren, Liechtenstein, not far from their homes. He had just returned from serving the required nine months in the Austrian Army, and the future ambassador was there with her parents (it was not unusual for families to attend local brass band concerts with the younger people staying on to dance). That was the beginning of their journey together. A decade later, they were married after a three-and-a-half-year stay in Australia. ìWe both need our personal freedom,î Claudia said. ìWe wanted to travel and then come back home and build our respective careers. It was not so unusual but a lot of people envied usóthat we could give up everything to travel the world. When we returned, our friends all had families and careersóthey had already ëarrived.í But now, I guess you could say we have too.î In 1990, Claudia and her husband came to New York to represent Liechtenstein at the United Nations. Between 2000 and 2002, she commuted between New York and Washington, trying to be an ambassador here while living in a New York penthouse overlooking the East River. She was Liechtensteinís first U.N. representative in New York and is her countryís first ambassador to the United States, having moved to Washington in October 2002. ìClaudia and I are pioneers,î her husband said. ìThe first six months in New York, we had to stay in a hotel. We bought the first residence in New York for Liechtenstein in New York on behalf of the government and rented this house here. Claudia set up both offices.î Upon hearing that their 49th-floor apartment overlooked the World Trade Center, I asked Manfred if he saw what happened on Sept. 11, 2001. ìWe had friends visiting us from Austria,î Manfred recounted. ìWe were having breakfast. When we first got a phone call telling us what had happened, both buildings were already burning. We were looking between the real-life scene out the window and the scene on TV. We kept discussing how they were going to put out the fireóno one was thinking [the Twin Towers] would collapse until they collapsed. Then, they were goneÖ. I remember immediately thinking, ëGosh, 10,000 people just died,î he said solemnly. ìNext to our tall building was a tiny little fire station. First, there were a few candles and flowers, and each day there would be moreóthen 50 people came. They were singing and holding candles. It was unbelievable,î Manfred continued. ìFirst, you could walk along a block and see a few pictures of the missing, five hours later there were dozens posted, and three days later the whole wall was covered for the whole block. Hundreds of people looking around for the missingóno one speaking a wordÖ. I will never forget that.î Throughout their time together, Manfred has been an avid athlete. ìWe both do winter sports but at a different speed,î Claudia said. ìAnd we love to go to the movies or just have a really cozy evening at homeÖ. But on Monday and Wednesday nights, his soccer nights, I have to negotiate to have him consider going to anything else.î ìSoccer is my passion Ö I love it because it is the absolute team sport,î said Manfred, who, at a fit 54 years old, is a member of the German and Swiss soccer teams in Washington. Besides playing soccer two nights a week, Manfred and his wife travel to New York twice a month so he can play with his old teammates on the Swiss soccer club there. A native of Austria, Manfred is also an expert snow boarder and out-of-bounds skier, accustomed to taking a helicopter into remote ski areas. ìIn basketball, you have to be seven-feet tall to play, and in hockey and football, you need to weigh 250 pounds,î Manfred said. ìBut in soccer, you can be littleósmall just so you are fast and have technique. With my experience, I may not be the fastest, but I can hold a defense together.î This avid soccer player appreciates not just the sport but the camarader ie it offers as well. ìIn New York, we play in a midtown public school, shower afterward and go out for dinner afterward,î Manfred said. ìIn Washington, we donít go out. There are younger players with young families, and they come to the games already dressed. I hope to change that.î Gail Scott is a contributing writer for The Washington Diplomat.