ABC News: U.S. Ambassador Richard Holbrooke dead at 69

2010-12-14 07:34:51 GMT+7 (ICT)

WASHINGTON, D.C. (BNO NEWS) -- U.S. Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, the president's special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, died at a hospital in Washington, D.C. on Monday, ABC News reported. He was 69.

Holbrooke was rushed to George Washington University Hospital in Washington, D.C. on Friday after he collapsed on the seventh floor of the U.S. State Department building. He underwent surgery on Saturday to repair a tear in his aorta and has since remained in a critical condition.

On Sunday, Holbrooke underwent an additional procedure to improve circulation following Saturday's surgery. But on Monday, Holbrooke passed away, ABC News reported, citing sources.

Holbrooke had served as President Barack Obama's special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan since January 2009. Before that, the veteran diplomat served as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations between August 1999 and January 2001 under President Bill Clinton.

But Holbrooke was probably best known for helping broker the 1995 agreement which ended the war in Bosnia.

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My condolences to his family, friends and colleagues. He will be missed by many, but his accomplishments will be remembered for a very long time.