Richard Charles Albert Holbrooke (April 24, 1941 – December 13, 2010) was an American diplomat, magazine editor, author, professor, Peace Corps official, and investment banker. He was the only person to have held the position of Assistant Secretary of State for two different regions of the world (Asia from 1977 to 1981 and Europe from 1994 to 1996). Later, Holbrooke was the Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan under the Obama administration.
From 1993 to 1994, he was U.S. Ambassador to Germany. Although long well-known in diplomatic and journalistic circles, Holbrooke achieved great public prominence only when he, together with former Swedish prime minister Carl Bildt, brokered a peace agreement among the warring factions in Bosnia that led to the signing of the Dayton Peace Accords, in 1995. Holbrooke was a contender to replace Warren Christopher as Secretary of State but ultimately lost when President Bill Clinton chose Madeleine Albright. From 1999 to 2001, Holbrooke served as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.
He was an adviser to the Presidential campaign of Senator John Kerry in 2004. Holbrooke then joined the Presidential campaign of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and became a top foreign policy adviser; Holbrooke was considered a likely candidate for Secretary of State in a potential Clinton administration or as a senior diplomat under Barack Obama.
In January 2009, Holbrooke was appointed as a special adviser on Pakistan and Afghanistan, working under President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton until the day of his death.
He is survived by his wife and two children.
(sources: NPR, Wikipedia)
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