Freck Vreeland - Bon Vivant

SON OF DIANA VREELAND, THE FAMOUS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF VOGUE,

SPY AND DIPLOMAT, BON VIVANT -  FRECK VREELAND

WHAT WAS THE CATALYST THAT WAS THE DECIDING REASON TO PUBLISH YOUR MEMOIR NOW?

I had started writing my memoirs back in the nineties, but I guess I was still so imbibed with both diplomacy and CIA, that I never managed to get myself on the page. It was just a series of anecdotes, about 65 pages long. A few years ago, my wife San- dra read it and suggested we work on the manuscript together to fill it out. She took the 65 pages and in between the lines in blue, filled out everything I had told her over the years, in her own words first, and littered with questions. I then sat down and rewrote the whole story. My son Alexander found me an editor, Elizabeth Smith, who managed to pull the whole life sto- ry together. After a few other edits by my son Nicky, myself and Sandra, the book now stands at a whopping 400 pages. Still a bit long, but there you go. I had a long life!

WHAT ARE YOUR EARLY MEMORIES OF YOUR MOTHER AND WHAT DID SHE PERSONALLY INSTILL IN YOU?

She was very warm and sweet, and very patient with my brother Tim and I. But she lived for my father, who was the love of her life. I vividly remember her taking rumba dancing lessons in our living room at 17 Hanover Terrace in London, where I

spent my first few years. I guess that must have been my earliest memory of her.

GROWING UP WITH DIANA VREELAND AS A MOTHER, WHAT IMPACT ON YOU
DID THIS MAKE?

Don’t forget, we didn’t really grow up with our mother, Tim and I each had a nanny, and mom was sort of the beautifully dressed up figure waltzing in and out of our lives. She wasn’t yet famous at all when we grew up, so we just thought of her as ‘mom’: loving, perfectionist, openminded. She was adamant we grew up being worldly, and had the map of the world put on the wall of our room, so we learned from very early on that bound- aries did not really matter. Everything and everybody was un- conditionally accepted, especially when they had flair, humor and taste. Even bad taste.

WHAT WAS THE ROLE YOUR FATHER PLAYED?

My father was very close to us young boys, and we relished when he came into our room at night and did a little tap dance for us. Dressed to the nines, and handsome as he was, he was a loving father and I am so sorry he died in his sixties. I would have loved to have spent more time with him.

Ambassador to Morocco, and friend to President John F Kennedy, Robert F Kennedy and George H.W. Bush. Surrounded by fame, Freck consorted with Presidents, entertained celebrities and played polo with royalty. Counterpart to this lifestyle Freck had a successful 35-year career as a “CIA Officer” working under diplomatic cover.

Freck was called upon to escort the then First Lady, Jacque- line Kennedy, around the city of Marrakesh.

CAN YOU SHARE SOMETHING ABOUT THIS TIME, WITH JACKIE?

I had just arrived at the Embassy in Rabat in 1963, when my Ambassador phoned me to say I was ordered to drive down to Marrakech, to be of assistance to our friend Jackie and her sister Lee. I packed my little family in our car, and drove to the wonderful La Mamounia Hotel, where we spent a few days. My wife Betty and the boys enjoyed the Hotel, while I accompanied the first lady and her sister to official outings. It was my first introduction to Moroccan high society, and I became friends with many members of the Royal Family and all their entourage, especially Prince Moulay Abdallah, the brother of King Hassan II, who invited me to play on the Royal Polo team. These friends were of vital important when I came back as Ambassador in the early nineties. Since I knew everybody of importance, I hit the ground running, and managed to do an enormous amount of work during my Ambassadorship.

CAN YOU SHARE A MEMORY OR TWO ABOUT BEING A CIA OFFICER?

Well, first off, I never killed anybody, and secondly, was never in real danger. The people from behind the Iron curtain all knew I was CIA, and talked to me willingly. I loved the job and firmly believed I was helping my country to combat communism. I was proud to work for an institution which was in those days considered heroic. I would get a call in the middle of the night and would make my way to a garage where a Mercedes was waiting for me, drive to another garage, change the license plates of another car, and make my way to a ‘safe house’ to meet with an informer. I would then carefully type up a report of everything he had told me, and send it of by secret cable to headquarters in the US. Once after one of these nightly outings, I noticed in my haste I had screwed on the license plate upside down! Thankfully I hadn’t been stopped.

A career diplomat Freck rose to become Ambassador to Mo- rocco nominated by George H.W. Bush.

CAN YOU SHARE A STORY OR TWO WHILE BEING AMBASSADOR AND ABOUT GEORGE H.W. BUSH.

I had an excellent relationship with King Hassan II, I re- spected him, but I was determined to talk about democracy and human rights in every formal speech I made. One day he took me aside and said: “Vreeland, what are you always going on about with this democracy, look at the mess in your own coun- try, do you want us to become like you!?” I was put on the spot and suddenly remembered a saying from Sir Winston Chur- chill, whom I knew the King admired greatly. I replied: “Your Majesty, Churchill always said that democracy was very, very bad, but that all the other systems were much worse!” I don’t remember if he actually laughed, but he accepted it. Everything I asked of him was eventually agreed upon, even, just as I was leaving, having the elections supervised by a third party, which was unheard of before. And my proudest achievement is hav- ing the King close the dreaded prison of Tazmamart, which I describe in my memoir.

George H.W. Bush was a friend, a man I admired tremendously for his moral values and as a human being. He worked hard at trying to solve International problems, but unfortunately did not concentrate enough on domestic matters. I stayed in touch with him and his lovely wife Barbara until he passed away.

YOU HAVE TWO INCREDIBLY INTERESTING AND BEAUTIFUL SONS; CAN YOU SHARE A TIDBIT OR TWO ON YOUR FAMILY?

Yes, both my sons are wonderful, and I’m proud to say, each one has made something special of their lives, and is happy about the path they have chosen.

I am sorry to have been often absent when they were growing up, but I feel very close to them both. We have a loving relationship and try to see each other as often as we can. Nicky was a difficult child, always set on doing things his way, which wasn’t necessarily my or his mother’s way. He has chosen to become a Tibetan Buddhist monk, and was made an abbot of his Monas- tery, Rato, in a Tibetan settlement in India. He is a delight to be with and I admire him very much.

Alexander was an easy child, never complaining, always hap- py, and after a very successful career in the fashion industry, has now semi-retired to his beautiful estate on Long Island, and is very active and supportive of his four children and three grand- children. He calls me twice a week and never lets more than a few months go by without coming to visit me, wherever I find myself in the world, for which I’m very grateful.

I respect both my sons very much, and am lucky to have such a wonderful close family.