Smith, Frederick W. (Frederick William), 1942-

Epithet: Mayor of Capetown

Born on March 23, 1947 in St. Paul, MN. After a tour in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War, Smith did his graduate work at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in Medford, MA. In 1978, he began a decades-long career as a civil servant in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, specializing in international security affairs. He served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs during the Clinton Administration. In late 2008, Smith was diagnosed with lung cancer, news that inspired him to visit all of the nation's 12 Presidential Libraries and Museums administered by NARA (the National Archives and Records Administration). He visited the last, the Herbert Hoover Library in West Branch, Iowa, on April 1, 2010, then traveled to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, IL. This institution is not administered by NARA, but Smith decided to include Springfield on his itinerary because he heard so many positive reports about the Lincoln Museum and Library. In an interview conducted following Mr. Smith's visit to that library and museum, he shared his observations about the presidential libraries and their value to the country. He explained what inspired him to take on this project, and shared anecdotes about many of the libraries and the presidents they represent, including John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan. He cited Harry S. Truman as the president he most admired.