Robert E. Fritts

Robert Eugene Fritts (May 3, 1934 – September 28, 2015) was an American diplomat and Foreign Service Officer. At the time of his appointment as U.S. ambassador to Rwanda at age 39, was the youngest ever ambassador in the Foreign Service. He later served as the U.S. ambassador to Ghana.

Born in Chicago, he was raised in Oak Park, Illinois. After graduating from the University of Michigan with a major in political science with a focus on international relations, In 2015, he died of lung cancer.

Foreign Service career When nominated to be ambassador to Rwanda, he was serving as deputy chief of mission in Khartoum, Sudan, where he “arrived the day of the murder of Ambassador Noel and DCM George Curtis Moore and distinguished himself in the handling of the difficult situation there in the aftermath of the assassinations”. His résumé includes international relations officer in the Bureau of European Affairs, economic-commercial officer in Luxembourg, followed by Japanese language and area studies at the Foreign Service Institute. He went on to posts as economic officer in Tokyo, economic-commercial officer, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, and deputy director, Office of Japanese Affairs, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs. He was assigned to Jakarta, Indonesia, as economic officer and in 1973 became deputy chief of mission in Khartoum, Sudan.