The origins of the ILR can be traced back to 1955, when the Foreign Service Institute's Howard Sollenberger, the CIA's Clyde Sargent, and James Frith of the Air Force Language Program, conversed regarding the need for communication and coordination between federal agencies in training, policies, and practices of foreign languages.
The ILR was formally institutionalized in 1973, after a study conducted by the General Accounting Office demonstrated the value of the organization.