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{{Short description|American diplomat and author (1941–2010)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Richard Holbrooke
| image               = Richard Holbrooke.jpg
| office              = [[United States Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan]]
| president           = [[Barack Obama]]
| term_start          = January 22, 2009
| term_end            = December 13, 2010
| predecessor         = Position established
| successor           = [[Marc Grossman]]
| office1             = 22nd [[United States Ambassador to the United Nations]]
| president1          = [[Bill Clinton]]
| term_start1         = September 7, 1999
| term_end1           = January 20, 2001
| predecessor1        = [[Peter Burleigh]] (acting)
| successor1          = [[John Negroponte]]
| office2             = 18th [[Assistant Secretary of State for European and Canadian Affairs]]
| president2          = [[Bill Clinton]]
| term_start2         = September 13, 1994
| term_end2           = February 21, 1996
| predecessor2        = [[Stephen A. Oxman]]
| successor2          = [[John C. Kornblum]]
| office3             = [[United States Ambassador to Germany]]
| president3          = [[Bill Clinton]]
| term_start3         = October 19, 1993
| term_end3           = September 12, 1994
| predecessor3        = [[Robert M. Kimmitt]]
| successor3          = [[Charles E. Redman]]
| office4             = 14th [[Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs]]
| president4          = [[Jimmy Carter]]
| term_start4         = March 31, 1977
| term_end4           = January 20, 1981
| predecessor4        = [[Arthur W. Hummel Jr.]]
| successor4          = [[John H. Holdridge]]
| birth_name          = Richard Charles Albert Holbrooke
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1941|4|24}}
| birth_place         = New York City, U.S.
| death_date          = {{nowrap|{{death date and age|2010|12|13|1941|4|24}}}}
| death_place         = Washington, D.C., U.S.
| party               = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
| spouse              = {{ubl|{{marriage|Larrine Sullivan|1964|1972|end=div}}|{{marriage|Blythe Babyak|1977|1978|end=div}}|{{marriage|[[Kati Marton]]|1995}}}}
| children            = 2
| education           = [[Brown University]] {{small|([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])}}
}}

'''Richard Charles Albert Holbrooke''' (April 24, 1941 – December 13, 2010) was an American diplomat and author. He was the only person to have held the position of [[United States Assistant Secretary of State|Assistant Secretary of State]] for two different regions of the world ([[Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs|Asia]] from 1977 to 1981 and [[Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs|Europe]] from 1994 to 1996 Robert Fedderick Kennedy/International World Peace Diplomat, peace agreement among the warring factions in [[Bosnia and Herzegovina|Bosnia]] leading to the signing of the [[Dayton Peace Accords]]. Holbrooke was a prime contender to succeed [[Warren Christopher]] as [[United States Secretary of State|Secretary of State]] but was passed over in 1996 as President [[Bill Clinton]] chose [[Madeleine Albright]] instead.

From 1999 to 2001, Holbrooke served as [[United States Ambassadors to the United Nations|U.S. Ambassador]] to the United Nations.
He was an adviser to the [[2004 United States presidential election|presidential campaign]] of Senator [[John Kerry]] in 2004. Holbrooke then joined the [[Hillary Rodham Clinton presidential campaign, 2008|2008 presidential campaign]] of Senator [[Hillary Clinton]] and became a top foreign policy adviser. Holbrooke was considered a likely candidate for [[United States Secretary of State|Secretary of State]] had Kerry or Hillary Clinton been elected president. 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.<ref name="Foreign Policy" /> During his career, Holbrooke worked to improve the lives of refugees, particularly the [[Hmong people|Hmong]] of Indochina.<ref name=":0" /> On December 13, 2010, Holbrooke died from [[complications (medical)|complications]] of an [[aortic dissection]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.newsweek.com/richard-holbrooke-american-full-69115|title=Richard Holbrooke: An American in Full|last=Alter|first=Jonathan|date=December 14, 2010|work=Newsweek|access-date=April 29, 2018|language=en}}</ref>

Holbrooke's unfulfilled ambition was to become Secretary of State; he, along with [[George F. Kennan|George Kennan]] and [[Charles E. Bohlen|Chip Bohlen]], were considered among the most influential U.S. diplomats who never achieved that position. Several considered Holbrooke's role in the [[Dayton Accords]] to merit the [[Nobel Peace Prize]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.newsweek.com/2010/12/14/holbrooke-in-the-trenches.html|title=Holbrooke in the Trenches|last=Moreau|first=Ron|date=December 14, 2010|work=Newsweek|access-date=April 29, 2010|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.newsweek.com/2011/01/16/richard-holbrooke-s-lonely-mission.html|title=Richard Holbrooke's Lonely Mission|last=Alter|first=Jonathan|date=January 16, 2011|work=Newsweek|access-date=April 29, 2018|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newsweek.com/2010/12/14/richard-holbrooke-a-disappointed-man.html|title=Richard Holbrooke: A Disappointed Man|date=December 14, 2010|website=Newsweek|access-date=October 18, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newsweek.com/2010/12/14/an-american-in-full.html|title=An American in Full|date=December 14, 2010|website=Newsweek|access-date=October 18, 2018}}</ref>

== Early life ==
Holbrooke was born on April 24, 1941, in New York City, to Dan Holbrooke (né Goldbrajch), a doctor, and Trudi Kearl (née Moos), a potter; brother, Andrew, survives him.<ref name=nytobit /><ref name=SciolinoE-TNYT-1998-06-19>Sciolino, Elaine.&nbsp;– "Man in the News&nbsp;– Richard C. Holbrooke; A Tough Man (Some Say Brutal) for a Tough Job".&nbsp;– ''[[The New York Times]]''.&nbsp;– June 19, 1998.</ref> Holbrooke's mother, whose Jewish family fled Hamburg in 1933 for Buenos Aires before coming to New York, took him to Quaker meetings on Sundays. She stated: "I was an atheist, his father was an atheist... We never thought of giving Richard a Jewish upbringing. The [[Meeting for worship|Quaker meetings]] seemed interesting."<ref name=CohenR-TNYTM-1995-12-17>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/12/17/magazine/taming-the-bullies-of-bosnia.html?pagewanted=all|title=Taming the Bullies of Bosnia|publisher=The New York Times Magazine&nbsp;– (c/o NYTimes.com)|author=Roger Cohen|date=December 17, 1995|access-date=November 27, 2015}}</ref>

Holbrooke's father, who died of colon cancer when Richard was 15 years old,<ref name=nytobit /> was born of [[Polish Jewish]] parents in Warsaw and took the name Holbrooke after migrating to the United States in 1939. The original family name was Goldbrajch.<ref name=naturalization>Petition for Naturalization of Dan Holbrooke, U.S. District, Southern District New York Court #487977 dated May 22, 1944</ref> During his teens, Holbrooke spent more time at the house of his friend David Rusk than his own home. David's father was [[Dean Rusk]] who became President Kennedy's Secretary of State in 1960.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Our Man : Richard Holbrooke and the End of the American Century|last=Packer|first=George|publisher=Knopf|year=2019|isbn=9780307958037|location=NY|pages=1–14, 30–211, 190–246, 320–350, 415–430, 490–510|oclc=1043051114}}</ref> Rusk inspired Holbrooke; however, he did not give him any special treatment during his career.<ref name=":0" />

After [[Scarsdale High School]],<ref name=toughman>{{cite news |title=A Tough Man (Some Say Brutal) for a Tough Job |author=Sciolino, Elaine |newspaper=The New York Times |date=June 19, 1998 |access-date=December 15, 2010 |page=A1 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/06/19/world/man-in-the-news-richard-c-holbrooke-a-tough-man-some-say-brutal-for-a-tough-job.html?pagewanted=all}}</ref> Holbrooke earned a Bachelor of Arts in history from [[Brown University]] in 1962, attending on a full-tuition scholarship.<ref name=toughman /><ref name=patch>{{cite web |title=Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, Scarsdale Native, Dies |author=Reynolds, William Joseph |date=December 14, 2010 |access-date=December 15, 2010 |publisher=[[Patch (website)|Patch.com]] |url=http://scarsdale.patch.com/articles/ambassador-richard-holbrooke-scarsdale-native-dies }}{{dead link|date=November 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref name="auto">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/14/world/14holbrooke.html|title=Richard C. Holbrooke, Giant of Diplomacy, Dies at 69|first=Robert D.|last=McFadden|newspaper=The New York Times|date=December 14, 2010|access-date=October 18, 2018}}</ref> He was later a [[fellow]] at the [[Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs]] at [[Princeton University]], leaving in 1970.<ref name=patch />
At Brown, Holbrooke was the Editor-in-Chief of the [https://www.browndailyherald.com/ Brown Daily Herald] in his senior year (1961–62).

== Career ==
=== Foreign Service (1962–1969) ===
President [[John F. Kennedy]]'s call to service inspired Holbrooke to enter government work.<ref>{{cite web|title= Holbrooke interview with the Brown Journal of World Affairs| date=January 5, 2023 |url=http://www.bjwa.org/article.php?id=L2wTriBMg5jEx1Q88B27ovaGuq1pAWN4Lgc0v7cJ}}</ref><ref name=PBS-MLP-NH-RCH>{{cite web|title=Richard C. Holbrooke |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/bio/holbrooke_bio.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19970616223034/http://www1.pbs.org/newshour/bb/bio/holbrooke_bio.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 16, 1997 |work=[[The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer]] |publisher=[[PBS]].&nbsp;– MacNeil/Lehrer Productions}}</ref> A few weeks after college graduation, Holbrooke entered the [[United States Foreign Service|Foreign Service]] where he underwent Vietnamese language training. He served for six years in [[Vietnam]], first in the [[Mekong Delta]], as a civilian representative for the [[United States Agency for International Development|Agency for International Development]] working on the [[Civil Operations and Revolutionary Development Support|rural Pacification Program]], a program supporting the [[South Vietnam]] government with economic development and enacting local political reforms. Holbrooke later became a staff assistant to Ambassadors [[Maxwell Taylor]] and [[Henry Cabot Lodge Jr.]], by securing the position from his best friend, [[Anthony Lake]].<ref name=PBS-MLP-NH-RCH />

During this time, he served with many other young diplomats who would play a major role in [[American foreign policy]] in the decades ahead, including [[John Negroponte]], [[Frank G. Wisner]], [[Les Aspin]] and [[Peter Tarnoff]]. When Holbrooke was 24, he joined a team of experts, formed by President [[Lyndon Johnson]] that was separate from the [[United States National Security Council|National Security Council]].

Following his time in the [[White House]], Holbrooke served as a special assistant to [[Under Secretary of State|Under Secretaries of State]] (then the number-two position in the State Department) [[Nicholas Katzenbach]] and [[Elliot Richardson]]. In 1968, Holbrooke was asked to be part of the American delegation to the 1968 [[Paris Peace Accords|Paris peace talks]], which was led by former New York Governor [[Averell Harriman]] and [[Deputy Secretary of Defense]] [[Cyrus Vance]]. He also drafted a volume of the [[Pentagon Papers]], a [[top-secret]] report on the government's decision-making in Vietnam.<ref name="Rogin 2010">{{cite web | last=Rogin | first=Josh | title=Holbrooke: I helped write the Pentagon Papers | website=Foreign Policy | date=July 29, 2010 | url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2010/07/29/holbrooke-i-helped-write-the-pentagon-papers/ | access-date=June 26, 2023}}</ref> Following these assignments, Holbrooke spent a year as a mid-career fellow at the [[Woodrow Wilson School]] at Princeton University.

=== Peace Corps and ''Foreign Policy'' (1970–1976) ===
In 1970, at his own request, Holbrooke was assigned to be the [[Peace Corps]] Director in [[Morocco]]. Holbrooke initially rejected an offer to become the editor of the magazine ''[[Foreign Policy]]'' instead recommending his friend, John Campbell. After two years, he left the [[United States Foreign Service|Foreign Service]] to become the managing editor of the magazine after Campbell died of thyroid cancer. Holbrooke held the position from 1972–1976.<ref name="charlotterotary.org">{{cite web|title=R. Holbrooke's Biography|url=http://www.charlotterotary.org/holbrooke.htm|publisher=Charlotte Rotary|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080807174036/http://www.charlotterotary.org/holbrooke.htm|archive-date=August 7, 2008}}</ref> During his tenure, the magazine ran investigative reports on Vietnam and the Middle East which disturbed some members of the foreign policy community.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2010/12/14/richard-c-holbrooke-1941-2010-3/|title=Richard C. Holbrooke, 1941-2010|last=Glasser|first=Susan|website=Foreign Policy|date=December 14, 2010 |language=en|access-date=May 9, 2019}}</ref> At the same time (1974–75), he was a consultant to the President's Commission on the Organization of the Government for the Conduct of Foreign Policy and was a contributing editor to [[Newsweek|''Newsweek International'']].<ref name="charlotterotary.org" />

=== Carter Administration (1977–1981) ===
In the summer of 1976, Holbrooke left ''Foreign Policy'' to serve as campaign coordinator for national security affairs to [[Governor of Georgia|Governor]] [[Jimmy Carter]] (D-Ga.) in his bid for the White House. During the campaign, Holbrooke helped Carter prepare for his foreign policy debates with President [[Gerald Ford]]. After Carter's victory, Holbrooke followed in the footsteps of such diplomatic mentors as [[Philip Habib]], Dean Rusk and [[Averell Harriman]] and, on March 31, 1977, became [[Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs]], making him the youngest person ever to hold that position, a post he held until 1981.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ho/po/12046.htm|title=Assistant Secretaries of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs|first=Bureau of Public Affairs|last=Department Of State. The Office of Electronic Information|website=2001-2009.state.gov}}</ref> While at State, he was a top adviser to Secretary of State Cyrus Vance. During his service, he feuded with Carter's National Security Advisor, [[Zbigniew Brzezinski]], although they both held similar positions on policy.<ref name=":0" /> Holbrooke oversaw a warming with [[Cold War]] adversaries in the region, culminating in the normalization of relations with China in December 1978.<ref name=PBS-MLP-NH-RCH /> He was also deeply involved in bringing hundreds of thousands of Indochinese refugees to the United States, thus beginning a lifelong involvement with the refugee issue.

=== East Timor controversy ===
In August 1977, then [[Assistant Secretary of State]], Holbrooke traveled to [[Indonesia]] to meet with [[Suharto|President Suharto]] in the midst of [[Indonesian invasion of East Timor|Indonesia's occupation]] of [[East Timor]], in which over 100,000 East Timorese were ultimately killed or starved to death. According to Brad Simpson, director of the Indonesia and East Timor Documentation Project at the National Security Archives, Holbrooke had visited officially to press for human rights reform but, after meeting Suharto, had instead praised him for Indonesia's human rights improvements, for the steps that Indonesia had taken to open East Timor to the West, and for allowing a delegation of congressmen to enter the territory under strict military guard, where they were greeted by staged celebrations welcoming the Indonesian armed forces.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.democracynow.org/2008/1/28/the_democrats_suharto_bill_clinton_richard|title=The Democrats & Suharto: Bill Clinton & Richard Holbrooke Questioned on Their Support for Brutal Indonesian Dictatorship|publisher=Democracy Now!|access-date=December 14, 2010}}</ref>

=== Wall Street years (1981–1993) ===
In January 1981, Holbrooke left government and became both senior advisor to [[Lehman Brothers]]<ref name=nytobit /> and vice president of Public Strategies, a [[consulting firm]] he formed with [[James A. Johnson (businessman)|James A. Johnson]], a former top aide to [[Walter Mondale]]. From 1985 until 1993, Holbrooke served as managing director of Lehman Brothers. During this time, he co-authored ''Counsel to the President'', ''The New York Times'' best-selling memoirs of legendary Democratic wise man and Defense Secretary [[Clark Clifford]], published in 1991. He was a top policy adviser to then-[[U.S. Senator|Senator]] [[Al Gore]] (D-[[Tennessee|TN]]) during [[Al Gore presidential campaign, 1988|his 1988 campaign]] for the Democratic presidential nomination. And four years later he advised [[Bill Clinton]], in [[Bill Clinton presidential campaign, 1992|his quest]] for the White House.

Holbrooke also remained deeply engaged in prominent foreign policy issues. He visited Bosnia twice in 1992 as a private citizen and a member of the board of [[Refugees International]], witnessing firsthand the damage and devastating human costs of the conflict. This experience committed Holbrooke to pursuing a more aggressive policy in the Balkans and, in a memo to his colleagues, he urged that "Bosnia will be the key test of American policy in Europe. We must therefore succeed in whatever we attempt."<ref>{{cite book |last=Holbrooke |first=Richard |title=To End a War |year=1999 |publisher=[[Random House]] |location=New York, New York |page=50}}</ref>

=== U.S. Ambassador to Germany (1993–1994) ===
In 1993, after [[Bill Clinton]] became president, Holbrooke was initially slated to be Ambassador to Japan due to his depth of knowledge and long experience in Asian affairs. However, this appointment eventually went to former Vice President [[Walter Mondale]], and Holbrooke unexpectedly was appointed Ambassador to Germany.<ref>{{cite book |last=Holbrooke |first=Richard |title=To End a War |year=1999 |publisher=[[Random House]] |location=New York, New York |page=55}}</ref> In 1992, Holbrooke was also a member of the Carnegie Commission on America and a Changing World and Chairman and principal author of the bipartisan Commission on Government and Renewal, sponsored by the [[Carnegie Corporation of New York|Carnegie Foundation]] and the [[Peterson Institute]]. He was Chairman and principal author of the "Memo to the President-Elect: Harnessing Process to Purpose," a blue-ribbon Commission report sponsored by the [[Carnegie Endowment for International Peace]] and the [[Institute for International Economics]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Special Report: Policymaking for a New Era |url=http://www.foreignaffairs.org/19921201faessay5911/carnegie-endowment-for-international-peace-institute-for-international-economics/special-report-policymaking-for-a-new-era.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071206151530/http://www.foreignaffairs.org/19921201faessay5911/carnegie-endowment-for-international-peace-institute-for-international-economics/special-report-policymaking-for-a-new-era.html |archive-date=December 6, 2007 }}</ref>

Holbrooke served in Germany during a dramatic moment: only a few years after [[German reunification]], he helped shape U.S. relations with a new Germany. A highlight of his tenure was President Bill Clinton's visit to Berlin in July 1994, when thousands of [[Germans]] crammed the streets to welcome the American leader.<ref name=JehlD-TNYT-1994-07-13>{{cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F00E4D7123FF930A25754C0A962958260&scp=2&sq=clinton+berlin&st=nyt|newspaper=The New York Times|title=With a Few Strides, Clinton Celebrates Germany's Unity|date=July 13, 1994|author=Jehl, Douglas}}</ref> While in Germany, Holbrooke also was a key figure in shaping the U.S. policy to promote [[Enlargement of NATO|NATO enlargement]], as well as its approach to the war in Bosnia.<ref>{{cite book |author=Robert E. Hunter |title=Open Door: NATO and Euro-Atlantic Security After the Cold War |chapter=Toward NATO Enlargement: The Role of USNATO |editor=Daniel S. Hamilton, Kristina Spohr |publisher=Brookings Institution Press |year=2019 |page=319 |url=https://transatlanticrelations.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/14-Hunter.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{cite report |title=Bosnia and Herzegovina: Background and U.S. Policy |author=Congressional Research Service |date=2019-04-15 |url=https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R45691 |page=3}}</ref>

In 1994, while serving as U.S. Ambassador to Germany, he conceived the idea of a cultural exchange center between the people of Berlin and Americans. With [[Richard von Weizsäcker]], former [[President of Germany]], and [[Henry A. Kissinger]] as co-Chairman, this institution—[[American Academy in Berlin|The American Academy in Berlin]]—was announced on September 9, 1994, the day after the [[U.S. Army]] [[Berlin Brigade]] left Berlin. The American Academy in Berlin opened three years later in a villa on the [[Wannsee]] once owned by the German-Jewish banker Hans Arnhold. The [[American Academy in Berlin]] is now (as of 2009) one of the most important links between Germany and the United States.<ref>{{cite web|title=American Academy|url=http://www.americanacademy.de/home/about-us/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090120131552/http://www.americanacademy.de/home/about-us/|archive-date=January 20, 2009}}</ref> Its Fellows have included writers (including Pulitzer Prize winning authors [[Arthur Miller]] and [[Jeffrey Eugenides]]), economists, government officials, and public policy experts such as [[Dennis Ross]] and former U.S. Ambassador to The People's Republic of China, [[J. Stapleton Roy]].<ref>{{cite web|title=American Academy Fellows |url=http://www.americanacademy.de/home/fellows/alumni/|access-date=October 13, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090122052102/http://www.americanacademy.de/home/fellows/alumni/|archive-date=January 22, 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2008, The American Academy in Berlin awarded its annual [[Henry A. Kissinger]] Award for Transatlantic Relations to [[George H. W. Bush]]. In 2007, the Award's first recipient was former [[Chancellor of Germany (Federal Republic)|German Chancellor]] [[Helmut Schmidt]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.americanacademy.de/staff-member/helmut-schmidt-2007/|title=Helmut Schmidt (2007)}}</ref>

=== Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs (1994–1996) ===
[[File:RichardHolbrookeCarBitOct95.JPEG|thumb|right|Holbrooke and [[Carl Bildt]] before peace talks in [[Sarajevo]], [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]] in October 1995]]
In 1994, Holbrooke returned to Washington to become the [[Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs|assistant secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs]], a position he held until 1996, when he resigned for personal reasons (he had recently married the author [[Kati Marton]] and wished to return to New York). While assistant secretary, Holbrooke led the effort to implement the policy to enlarge NATO and had the distinction of leading the negotiation team charged with resolving the Balkans crisis.<ref>{{cite book |author=Robert E. Hunter |title=Open Door: NATO and Euro-Atlantic Security After the Cold War |chapter=Toward NATO Enlargement: The Role of USNATO |editor=Daniel S. Hamilton, Kristina Spohr |publisher=Brookings Institution Press |year=2019 |page=319 |url=https://transatlanticrelations.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/14-Hunter.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{cite report |title=Bosnia and Herzegovina: Background and U.S. Policy |author=Congressional Research Service |date=2019-04-15 |url=https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R45691 |page=3}}</ref>

On August 19, an [[armoured personnel carrier]] following the Humvee Holbrooke was riding in fell off the side of Mt. [[Igman]] near Sarajevo. Three of Holbrooke's five-man delegation team perished in the incident. In Holbrooke's telling of the incident, he portrayed himself and the other surviving member of his delegation, General Clark, as active participants in the rescue mission.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://movies2.nytimes.com/books/first/h/holbrooke-war.html|title=To End a War|website=The New York Times|access-date=May 18, 2019}}</ref> However, Holbrooke's biographer [[George Packer]], discredited Holbrooke's story, stating that another man traveling with the delegation, Colonel Banky, was in fact the person who searched for the APC while Holbrooke and Clark waited near the Humvee.<ref name=":0" /> A report on the incident stated that the driver of the APC was going too fast.<ref name=":0" />

In Paris in December 1995, Holbrooke was the chief architect of the [[Dayton Peace Accords]] which ended the three-and-a-half-year-long war in Bosnia.<ref name="AMANPOUR, CHRISTIANE 2011">AMANPOUR, CHRISTIANE. "Holbrooke." ''New Republic'' 242.1 (2011): 9–10. BusinessSource Elite. Web. September 28, 2012.</ref> In 1996, he was awarded the [[Manfred Wörner]] Medal, awarded by the [[Federal Ministry of Defence (Germany)|German Ministry of Defense]] for public figures who have rendered "special meritorious service to peace and freedom in Europe."<ref>{{cite web |title=Secretary General Congratulates Mr. Richard C. Holbrooke on Receipt of the First Manfred Wörner Medal|author=NATO |date=2011-01-05 |url=https://www.nato.int/cps/fr/natohq/news_25424.htm?selectedLocale=en|access-date=April 6, 2025|orig-date= 17 January 1997}}</ref>

=== Balkan envoy (1996–1999) ===
{{external media| float = right| width = 230px | video1 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?106538-1/end-war ''Booknotes'' interview with Holbrooke on ''To End a War'', July 26, 1998], [[C-SPAN]]| video2 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?107510-1/to-end-war Presentation by Holbrooke to the National Press Club on ''To End a War'', June 18, 1998], [[C-SPAN]] }}
Upon leaving the State Department, Holbrooke was asked by President Clinton to become, as a private citizen, a special envoy to the Balkans given his service in the region. In 1997, Holbrooke became a special envoy to [[Cyprus]] and the Balkans on a [[pro-bono]] basis as a private citizen. During 1998 and 1999, in his capacity as special presidential envoy, Holbrooke worked to end the conflict between the armed forces of the [[Federal Republic of Yugoslavia]] and the [[Kosovo Liberation Army]] (KLA), who were fighting for an independent [[Kosovo]] in the [[Kosovo War]]. Holbrooke returned to Bosnia two years later to the city of [[Sarajevo]]. In March 1999 he traveled to [[Belgrade]] to deliver the [[ultimatum]] to [[Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Yugoslav]] [[President (government title)|president]] [[Slobodan Milošević]] before the NATO attack began.<ref name=PerlezJ-TNYT-1999-03-22>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/03/22/world/conflict-balkans-overview-milosevic-get-one-last-chance-avoid-bombing.html |title=Conflict in the Balkans: The Overview; Milosevic to Get One 'Last Chance' to Avoid Bombing|last=Perlez|first=Jane|date=March 22, 1999|work=The New York Times|access-date=February 15, 2009}}</ref> Holbrooke was strongly anti-[[Serbia]] and referred to [[Serbs]] as "murderous assholes".<ref>{{cite book |title=Peace and Security in the Western Balkans: A Local Perspective |date=2022 |publisher=Taylor & Francis}}</ref> Holbrooke wrote numerous articles about his experiences in the Balkans, and in 1998, published the widely acclaimed book, ''To End a War'', a memoir of his time as the chief negotiator of the [[Dayton Peace Accords]], ending the Bosnian civil war. ''[[The New York Times]]'' ranked the book as one of the eleven best books of the year in 1998.<ref>{{cite news |title= Editors' Choice: The Best Books of 1998 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/books/98/12/06/reviews/981206.06editcht.html |work=The New York Times}}</ref> In his book he assessed Bosnian president [[Alija Izetbegovic]] negatively stating, "although he paid lip service to the principles of a multi-ethnic state, he was not the democrat that some supporters in the West saw".<ref>{{cite book |title=To End a War The Conflict in Yugoslavia--America's Inside Story--Negotiating with Milosevic |date=1999 |publisher=Random House Publishing Group |page=97}}</ref>

According to [[Radovan Karadžić]] and [[Muhamed Sacirbey]], ex-Bosnian foreign minister, Holbrooke signed an agreement with Karadžić that if the latter withdrew from politics he would not be sent to the [[International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia|Hague tribunal]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://balkaninsight.com/2022/10/28/how-karadzic-tried-to-dodge-justice-claiming-us-immunity-deal/|title=How Karadzic Tried to Dodge Justice, Claiming US 'Immunity Deal'|last=Karcic|first=Hamza|date=October 28, 2022|publisher=Balkan Insight|access-date=April 6, 2025}}</ref> Holbrooke denied these terms, saying Karadžić's statement was "a flat-out lie."<ref name=RobertsonN-CNN-2008-07-31>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/08/01/karadzic.trial/index.html |title=Karadzic Details 'Deal with U.S. to Vanish'|last=Robertson|first=Nic|author-link=Nic Robertson|date=July 31, 2008|publisher=CNN|access-date=November 24, 2008}}</ref>

Holbrooke and Bildt were considered candidates for the Nobel Peace Prize as a result of the Dayton Peace Accords. However, Holbrooke's personal lobbying for the award may have been detrimental to their chances.<ref name=":0" />

=== U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations (1999–2001) ===
In August 1999, Holbrooke was sworn-in as the 22nd [[U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations]], replacing [[Bill Richardson]]. Holbrooke initially had issues passing the Senate because of perceived abuses of authority while as Clinton's Balkan envoy.<ref name=":0" /> During his tenure, Holbrooke was known for innovation and for achieving diplomatic breakthroughs that settled a series of longstanding tensions in the United States' relationship with the UN. His highest-profile accomplishment was negotiating a historic deal between the United States and the UN's then 188-Member States to settle the bulk of [[United States and the United Nations#Arrearage|arrears owed by the United States to the United Nations]]. The deal, achieved with the agreement of the UN's entire membership in late December 2000, lowered the rate of UN dues paid by the United States to the UN, fulfilling the terms of a U.S. law championed by Senators [[Jesse Helms]] (R-[[North Carolina|NC]]) and [[Joseph Biden]] (D-[[Delaware|DE]]). In return for the reduction, the United States paid the UN over $900 million in back dues.<ref name=CrossetteB-TNYT-1999-12-22>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/12/22/world/us-saves-its-un-voting-rights-with-a-payment-of-back-dues.html |work=The New York Times|title=U.S. Saves Its U.N. Voting Rights With a Payment of Back Dues|last=Crossette|first=Barbara|author-link=Barbara Crossette|date=December 22, 1999}}</ref> During his time as ambassador Hobrooke forwent the official ambassador's residence at the Waldorf Astoria hotel instead letting his chief of staff temporarily use the residence.<ref>{{cite news | last = Lynch | first = Colum | title = U.N.'s Holbrooke to Forgo Waldorf Astoria Residence | newspaper = The Washington Post | date = August 28, 1999 | url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1999/08/28/uns-holbrooke-to-forgo-waldorf-astoria-residence/c94590d6-ca2a-40cf-80dc-ab2fad702c87/ | access-date =July 13, 2022 | quote=Richard C. Holbrooke, the new U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, has eschewed the formal $30,000-a-month ambassador's residence at the Waldorf Astoria. But that hasn't stopped his 27-year-old executive assistant, R.P. Eddy, from checking into the luxury hotel suite where Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright and Energy Secretary Bill Richardson lived during their terms as ambassador. }}</ref> 

Holbrooke secured a reduction in U.S. dues to the UN despite a booming American economy by enfolding the U.S. position within a broad push to update the UN's long-outdated [[financial system]]. As negotiations reached a critical phase in the fall of 2000, Holbrooke bridged a gap between what the United States was legally permitted to pay and the amounts the rest of the UN membership were willing to shoulder by securing an unprecedented contribution by billionaire [[Ted Turner]], founder of the [[UN Foundation]]. Holbrooke and his team received a standing ovation in the [[United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee]] when the terms of the deal were presented.

Holbrooke's other achievements as UN Ambassador included getting the [[United Nations Security Council]] to debate and pass a resolution on [[HIV/AIDS]], the first time that body had treated [[public health]] as a matter of global security. In January 2000, Holbrooke used the United States' presidency of the UN Security Council to spotlight a series of crises in Africa, holding six consecutive UN debates that brought together leaders from the region and the across the globe, including former South African President [[Nelson Mandela]] and then U.S. Vice President [[Al Gore]], to catalyze more effective UN interventions in the Democratic Republic of Congo, [[Angola]], and elsewhere. Holbrooke decried a "double standard" whereby African conflicts received insufficient global attention.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/news/2000/02/000204-africa-usia1.htm|title=News from the Washington File|website=www.globalsecurity.org}}</ref>

In 2000, Holbrooke led a UN Security Council delegation in a series of diplomatic negotiations throughout Africa, including to the [[Democratic Republic of Congo]], [[Zambia]], [[Zimbabwe]], [[Rwanda]], and [[Uganda]]. Holbrooke also secured membership for Israel in the UN's [[Western European and Others Group|Western European and Others]] regional group, ending Israel's historic exclusion from regional group deliberations and allowing it to, for the first time, stand for election to leadership positions in UN sub-bodies.<ref>Press Release: [http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/About+the+Ministry/MFA+Spokesman/2000/Israel+Accepted+to+WEOG.htm Israel Accepted to WEOG An Achievement for Israeli Diplomacy].&nbsp;– Ministry of Foreign Affairs.&nbsp;– The State of Israel.&nbsp;– May 28, 2000.</ref> During the final weeks of his term, Holbrooke secured consultative status at the United Nations for [[Hadassah Women's Zionist Organization of America|Hadassah]], the Jewish women's service organization, overcoming strenuous objections from certain [[Arab]] delegations.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/2001/01/17/2001-01-17_un_votes_to_extend_its_ears_.html |newspaper=[[Daily News (New York)|Daily News]] |title=UN Votes To Extend Its Ears to Hadassah |date=January 17, 2001 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090124030250/http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/2001/01/17/2001-01-17_un_votes_to_extend_its_ears_.html |archive-date=January 24, 2009 }}</ref>

==== GBCHealth ====
In January 2000, when the United States was in the rotating presidency of the [[UN Security Council]], Ambassador Holbrooke held an unprecedented meeting of the Security Council to discuss AIDS in Africa.<ref>Global Business Coalition: [http://www.gbcimpact.org/live/feature/strategy.php Strategy Page]. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080918044336/http://www.gbcimpact.org/live/feature/strategy.php |date=September 18, 2008 }}</ref> No Security Council session in the history of the UN had ever been devoted to a health issue prior to this historic meeting. Vice President [[Al Gore]] presided over the Security Council and declared that AIDS was a security threat to all nations.<ref>Al Gore Support Center [http://algoresupportcenter.com/accomplishments5.html Accomplishments Archive] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080718105743/http://algoresupportcenter.com/accomplishments5.html |date=July 18, 2008 }}</ref>

Upon leaving the UN a year later, Holbrooke took over a nearly moribund NGO that was intended to mobilize businesses and corporations in the fight against AIDS. At the time, it had 17 members. Over the next six years, Holbrooke turned this organization—originally called the Global Business Council on HIV/AIDS—into a worldwide organization with over 225 members.<ref>Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria: [http://www.gbcimpact.org/itcs_node/0/0/article/905 "A Growing Business Movement"].</ref> It expanded to include [[malaria]] and [[tuberculosis]], becoming the ''Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria'' in 2006. In 2011, the organization became GBCHealth and expanded its mandate to include an array of health issues. GBCHealth is the official focal point for mobilizing the business community in support of [[The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria]], and has grown into an important part of the ongoing war against these three diseases.<ref>Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria:  [http://eforums.healthdev.org/read/messages?id=5527 "New Group to Galvanize Business Role in Combating AIDS, TB and Malaria"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726144406/http://eforums.healthdev.org/read/messages?id=5527 |date=July 26, 2011 }}.</ref>

=== Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign ===
Holbrooke was Clinton's lead foreign policy advisor in her 2008 campaign for president and was believed to be her preferred choice for Secretary of State. When Obama [[2008 United States presidential election|defeated]] Clinton and selected her as Secretary of State, Holbrooke was her preferred option for [[Deputy Secretary of State]], but was vetoed by Obama.<ref name="Foreign Policy">{{cite web |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2013/03/04/the-inside-story-of-how-the-white-house-let-diplomacy-fail-in-afghanistan/|title=The Inside Story of How the White House Let Diplomacy Fail in Afghanistan |last1=Nasr |first1=Vali |date=March–April 2013 |work=Foreign Policy |access-date=November 27, 2015}}</ref>

=== Special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan (2009–2010) ===
[[File:RichardHolbrookeHeratAfghanistanAug09.jpg|thumb|Holbrooke meets with a commander in [[Herat|Herat, Afghanistan]].]]

In January 2009, Holbrooke was appointed by President Obama as special representative for [[Afghanistan]] and [[Pakistan]] (SRAP).<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/08/us/politics/08holbrooke.html|title=Back on World Stage, a Larger-Than-Life Holbrooke|first=Jodi|last=Kantor|newspaper=The New York Times|date=February 7, 2009|access-date=October 18, 2018}}</ref> Holbrooke was never in serious contention to become Obama's secretary of state although he interviewed for the position. After Hillary Clinton became secretary of state she requested that Holbrooke become SRAP, a newly created role which he had previously advocated for. Holbrooke's tenure as SRAP has been considered lackluster. Holbrooke's relationship with President Obama was minimal and his relationship was even worse with Joe Biden. He became unpopular in the administration when he attempted to aid Afghan President [[Hamid Karzai]]'s political opponents during his reelection bid.<ref name=":0" /> Holbrooke was well-liked in Pakistan by civilians because he actively sought to build a relationship with their country.<ref name=":0" /> In that position, he also helped kill an initiative to "back the creation of a new UN special envoy empowered to pursue peace talks with the [[Taliban]]."<ref>Borger, Julian (December 14, 2010) [https://www.theguardian.com/world/julian-borger-global-security-blog/2010/dec/14/afghanistan-obama-administration Afghanistan after Holbrooke], ''[[The Guardian]]''</ref> He also asserted that:

<blockquote>one of the most cost-effective steps [[Washington, D.C.|Washington]] could take would be to boost the agriculture sector of [[Afghanistan]], which in years past had been a productive and profitable source of exports. Replicate the past success, he said, and Afghans would have money and jobs—and that, in turn, would create stability in the country. He called for 'a complete rethink' of the drug problem in Afghanistan, suggesting that draconian eradication programs were bound to fail.<ref name=Corn>[[David Corn|Corn, David]] (2010-12-14) [http://motherjones.com/mojo/2010/12/richard-holbrooke-death-afghanistan Richard Holbrooke's Unfinished Business], ''[[Mother Jones (magazine)|Mother Jones]]''</ref></blockquote>

However, according to [[David Corn]], "Holbrooke's skill set did not lead to much accomplishment in [[Afghanistan]]. He never worked out a productive relationship with Afghan President [[Hamid Karzai]] … He butted heads with other administration officials and was dismissed by European colleagues. He brokered no breakthroughs."<ref name=Corn />

{{further|South Asian Foreign Policy of the Barack Obama administration}}

=== Other activities ===
[[File:Richard Holbrooke US diplomat 2008 front.jpg|thumbnail|Holbrooke in 2008 at [[Brown University]]]]

Holbrooke was the vice chairman of Perseus LLC, a leading [[private equity]] firm. From February 2001 until July 2008, Holbrooke was a member of the Board of Directors of [[American International Group]]. He was a member of the board of directors of the [[Council on Foreign Relations]] in New York and formerly served on the Advisory Board of the [[National Security Network]]. Holbrooke was also a member of the [[International Institute for Strategic Studies]], the Citizens Committee for New York City, and [[the Economic Club of New York]]. He was a member of the [[Trilateral Commission]], and he has been listed on their membership roster as one of their "Former Members in Public Service".<ref>{{cite web|title=Membership List for the Trilateral Commission |url=http://www.trilateral.org/download/file/TC_list_9-10.pdf}}, September 2010, p. 13. Retrieved September 23, 2010, from www.trilateral.org</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Membership List for the Trilateral Commission|date=May 19, 2010 |url=http://publicintelligence.net/trilateral-commission-complete-membership-list-may-2010/}}, May 2010, p. 13.</ref>

Holbrooke was the Founding Chairman of the [[American Academy in Berlin]]; President and CEO of the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria, the business alliance against HIV/AIDS, until his appointment as a special envoy by President [[Barack Obama]];<ref>Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria: [http://gbcimpact.org/itcs_node/0/0/news/1288 "GBC President and CEO Richard Holbrooke Heading to State Department"].</ref> and Chairman of the [[Asia Society]]. Holbrooke's other board memberships included the [[American Museum of Natural History]], [[Malaria No More]] (a New York-based nonprofit that was launched at the 2006 [[White House]] Summit with the goal of ending all deaths caused by malaria), [[Partnership for a Secure America]], and the [[National Endowment for Democracy]]. Holbrooke was also an honorary trustee of the [[Dayton International Peace Museum]], as well as professor-at-large at the [[Watson Institute for International Studies]] at [[Brown University]], his alma mater. Additionally, Holbrooke was an Advisory Board member for the [[Partnership for a Secure America]], a not-for-profit organization dedicated to recreating the bipartisan center in American national security and foreign policy.

Holbrooke also served as vice chairman of [[Credit Suisse First Boston]], managing director of [[Lehman Brothers]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cfr.org/bios/548/richard_c_holbrooke.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070715004821/http://www.cfr.org/bios/548/richard_c_holbrooke.html|url-status=dead|title=Council on Foreign Relations&nbsp;– Richard Holbrooke|archivedate=July 15, 2007}}</ref> managing editor of ''[[Foreign Policy]]'', and director of the Peace Corps in Morocco.

He wrote numerous articles and two books: ''To End a War'', and the co-author of ''Counsel to the President'', and one volume of ''[[The Pentagon Papers]]''. He received more than a dozen honorary degrees, including an [[LL.D.]] from [[Bates College]] in 1999. He wrote a monthly column for ''[[The Washington Post]]'' and ''[[Project Syndicate]]''.

On March 20, 2007, he appeared on ''[[The Colbert Report]]'' to mediate in what [[Stephen Colbert]] (or rather, [[Stephen Colbert (character)|his television alter-ego]]) saw as [[Willie Nelson]] infringing on his ice cream flavor time. Holbrooke was the 'ambassador on call' and after a short mediation process the two parties agreed to taste each other's [[Ben and Jerry's]] ice cream to make amends. He subsequently sang "[[On the Road Again (Willie Nelson song)|On the Road Again]]" in a trio with Colbert and Nelson.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/84015/march-20-2007/willie-nelson|title=The Colbert Report|website=Comedy Central|access-date=October 18, 2018}}</ref>

Holbrooke was an Eminent Member of the [[Sergio Vieira de Mello Foundation]] until his death.

In June 2008, [[Conde Nast Portfolio]] reported that Holbrooke and his son allegedly got multiple below-rate loans at [[Countrywide Financial]] because the corporation considered them "FOA's"—"[[Countrywide Financial#"Friends of Angelo" VIP program|Friends of Angelo]]" (Countrywide Chief Executive [[Angelo Mozilo]]).<ref>[http://www.portfolio.com/news-markets/top-5/2008/06/12/Countrywide-Loan-Scandal Countrywide's Many 'Friends'] Conde Nast Portfolio, June 12, 2008.</ref>

A documentary titled [[The Diplomat (2015 film)|''The Diplomat'']] centered on the legacy of Holbrooke's career appeared on HBO in the fall of 2015. The documentary was directed by his son, [[David Holbrooke]], and features notes from Holbrooke's "secret audio diary" which "he dictated on a near daily basis from August 2010 until his death".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/23/world/middleeast/richard-c-holbrookes-diary-of-disagreement-with-the-obama-administration.html|title=Richard C. Holbrooke's Diary of Disagreement With Obama Administration|date=April 23, 2015|website=The New York Times|access-date=October 18, 2018}}</ref>

He was a member of the Steering Committee of the [[Bilderberg Group]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bilderbergmeetings.org/former-steering-committee-members.html|title=Former Steering Committee Members|work=bilderbergmeetings.org|publisher=[[Bilderberg Group]]|access-date=February 8, 2014|archive-date=February 2, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202095633/http://www.bilderbergmeetings.org/former-steering-committee-members.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> and participated in every conference between 1995 and 2010.

== Positions ==
In January 2001, Holbrooke said that "[[Iraq]] will be one of the major issues facing the incoming [[Presidency of George W. Bush|Bush administration]] at the United Nations." Further, "[[Saddam Hussein#Domestic policy|Saddam Hussein's activities]] continue to be unacceptable and, in my view, dangerous to the region and, indeed, to the world, not only because he possesses the potential for [[weapons of mass destruction]] but because of the very nature of his regime. His willingness to be cruel internally is not unique in the world, but the combination of that and his willingness to export his problems makes him a clear and present danger at all times."<ref name="usdmti">{{cite news|url=http://www.usembassy.it/file2001_01/alia/a1011102.htm|title=Holbrooke: Iraq Will Be a Major UN Issue for Bush Administration|date=January 11, 2001|publisher=United States Diplomatic Mission to Italy|access-date=February 15, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090125045345/http://www.usembassy.it/file2001_01/alia/a1011102.htm|archive-date=January 25, 2009}}</ref>

On February 24, 2007, Holbrooke delivered the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]]'s weekly radio address and called for "a new strategy in Iraq", involving "a careful, phased redeployment of U.S. troops" and a "new diplomatic offensive in the [[Gulf region]] to help stabilize Iraq."<ref>{{cite web|title=Former U.N. Ambassador Richard Holbrooke Delivers Democratic Radio Address|publisher=[[Democratic National Committee]]|date=February 26, 2007|access-date=April 30, 2007|url=http://www.democrats.org/a/2007/02/former_un_ambas.php|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20070309010923/http://www.democrats.org/a/2007/02/former_un_ambas.php|archive-date=March 9, 2007}}</ref>

During the [[2008 South Ossetia war]] (1–16 August 2008) between Russia and [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], Holbrooke said during a [[CNN]] interview that he had predicted the conflict in early 2008.

== Personal life ==
Holbrooke was married three times. His first wife was Larrine Sullivan, whom he married in 1964; they had two sons, David and Anthony, before Holbrooke and Sullivan divorced in 1972.<ref name=nytobit>{{cite news |title=Strong American Voice in Diplomacy and Crisis |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/14/world/14holbrooke.html?ref=world&pagewanted=all |date=December 14, 2010 |access-date=December 13, 2010 |newspaper=The New York Times |author=McFadden, Robert D. |page=A1}}</ref> He later married Blythe Babyak, a reporter for ''[[MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour]]'', on January 1, 1977; they divorced in 1978.<ref>{{cite news |title=Richard Holbrooke Weds Blythe Babyak |newspaper=The New York Times |date=January 7, 1977 |page=56 |access-date=December 13, 2010 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1977/01/09/archives/richard-holbrooke-weds-blythe-babyak.html}}</ref> He was married to [[Kati Marton]] from 1995 until his death.<ref name=nytobit /> Before he married Marton, he was involved in a longstanding relationship with the broadcast journalist [[Diane Sawyer]] and lived with her for seven years.<ref name="washingtonpost.com">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/reliable-source/post/kati-martons-love-stories-paris-marriages-to-peter-jennings-and-richard-holbrooke-and-a-couple-affairs/2012/08/01/gJQASb2dNX_blog.html|title=Kati Marton's love stories: Paris, marriages to Peter Jennings and Richard Holbrooke, and a couple affairs|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=October 18, 2018}}</ref>

Holbrooke had been good friends with diplomat [[Anthony Lake]] whom he met in Vietnam in the early 1960's while both of them were in the foreign service. They frequently visited each other and Lake aided Holbrooke throughout the early years of his career. They grew apart when Holbrooke had an affair with Lake's wife, eventually rarely speaking, and by the time Lake became Bill Clinton's National Security Advisor, their friendship was over.<ref name=":0" />

== Death ==
On December 11, 2010, Holbrooke was admitted to [[George Washington University Hospital]] in Washington D.C. after falling ill at the State Department's headquarters.<ref name="Boston.com">{{cite news|url=http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2010/12/13/ap_source_us_diplomat_richard_holbrooke_dies/?page=full|title=US diplomat Richard Holbrooke dies|newspaper=[[The Boston Globe]]|date=December 13, 2010|access-date=December 14, 2010|last=Lee |first=Matthew}}</ref> While there, he underwent twenty hours of surgery to fix an [[aortic dissection]], a rare condition.<ref name="Blackburn1">{{cite news|last=Blackburn|first=Bradley|title=Richard Holbrooke Dies After Suffering Aortic Dissection|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Health/inside-aortic-dissection-heart-problem-killed-richard-holbrooke/story?id=12393928&page=1|access-date=December 14, 2010|publisher=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]]|date=December 14, 2010}}</ref>

Holbrooke died on December 13, 2010, from complications of the torn aorta.<ref name="Blackburn1" /> Holbrooke's last words before being [[Sedation|sedated]] for surgery, which have been clarified to have been a comical interchange with his doctor, were: "You've got to end this [[War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)|war in Afghanistan]]."<ref>[http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/14/was-holbrooke-sent-to-afghanistan-too-late/ Revisiting Holbrooke's Last Remarks], Robert Mackay, ''[[The New York Times]]'', December 14, 2010.</ref> 

Holbrooke is interred at [[Oakland Cemetery (Yonkers, New York)|Oakland Cemetery]] in [[Sag Harbor, New York]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sagharborpartnership.org/permanent-residents-of-oakland-cemetery.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170719103356/http://www.sagharborpartnership.org/permanent-residents-of-oakland-cemetery.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 19, 2017 |title=Permanent Residents of Oakland Cemetery |website=Sag Harbor Partnership.org |publisher=Sag harbor Partnership |location=Sag Harbor, NY |access-date=May 10, 2019 }}</ref>

==Legacy==
[[File:Fier_County_Mayor_Dr._Baftjar_Zeqaj_and_Dr._Cary_Lee_Peterson,_US_Senate_Lobbyist_1.jpg|thumb|A bust of Holbrooke was unveiled in [[Fier]], Albania in 2015. ]]

[[Frank Rich]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' wrote: "His premature death—while heroically bearing the crushing burdens of Afghanistan and Pakistan—is tragic in more ways than many Americans yet realize."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/26/opinion/26rich.html |title=Who Killed the Disneyland Dream? |date=December 26, 2010 |page=WK14 |author=Frank Rich |work=The New York Times }}</ref> President Obama memorialized Holbrooke, stating "few have left such a towering legacy as a face of America to the world as Richard Holbrooke".<ref>{{Cite web|date=January 14, 2011|title=Honoring Holbrooke: 'Because We Could Make a Difference...' |url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2011/01/14/honoring-holbrooke-because-we-could-make-difference|access-date=November 6, 2021|publisher=White House|language=en}}</ref>

On January 14, 2011, Holbrooke's memorial service was held at [[John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.c-span.org/Events/Memorial-Service-for-Veteran-US-Diplomat-Richard-Holbrooke/10737418919/ |title=Memorial Service held at John F Kennedy Center C-SPAN |date=January 14, 2011 |publisher=[[C-SPAN]] |access-date=January 15, 2011 |archive-date=January 5, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120105222752/http://www.c-span.org/Events/Memorial-Service-for-Veteran-US-Diplomat-Richard-Holbrooke/10737418919/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The 2014 film [[Diplomacy (2014 film)|''Diplomacy'']] was dedicated to Holbrooke.<ref>{{cite web
| url        = http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/movies/volker-schl%C3%B6ndorff-german-director-of-diplomacy-talks-new-film-summers-in-amagansett-1.9538343
| title      = Volker Schlöndorff, German director of 'Diplomacy,' talks new film, summers in Amagansett
| work       = Newsday
| author     = Rafer Guzman
| date       = October 23, 2014
| access-date = March 3, 2016
}}</ref>

In 2015, Holbrooke's son David directed a documentary, ''[[The Diplomat (2015 film)|The Diplomat]]'', which chronicled his father's professional life and achievements.

A street in [[Pristina]], the capital of [[Kosovo]], is named after Holbrooke, albeit in Albanian transliteration, "Riçard Holbruk".

==Recognition==
In 1999, Holbrooke received the Golden Plate Award of the [[Academy of Achievement|American Academy of Achievement]].<ref>{{cite web|title= Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement |website=achievement.org|publisher=[[American Academy of Achievement]]|url=https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/#public-service}}</ref>

In 2011, President Obama created the Richard C. Holbrooke Award for Diplomacy to be awarded annually to up to five individuals or groups the Secretary of State has determined have made "especially meritorious contributions to diplomacy."<ref>{{cite web |date=January 19, 2011 |title=Obama Creates Award to Honor Richard Holbrooke|publisher=Courthouse News Service |url=https://www.courthousenews.com/obama-creates-award-tohonor-richard-holbrooke/}}</ref>

== Writings ==
=== Books ===
* ''To End a War''. New York: [[Random House]] (1998). {{ISBN|978-0375500572}}.

* ''Counsel to the President''

=== Articles ===
* "The Machine That Fails". ''[[Foreign Policy (magazine)|Foreign Policy]]'', vol. 1 (1970): 65–77. {{doi|10.2307/1147889}}. {{JSTOR|1147889}}.
* "Japan and the United States: Ending the Unequal Partnership". ''[[Foreign Affairs]]'', vol. 70 (1990): 41. {{doi|10.2307/20045002}}. {{JSTOR|20045002}}.
* "America, a European Power". ''[[Foreign Affairs]]'', vol. 74, no. 2 (Mar.–Apr. 1995): 38–51. {{doi|10.2307/20047041}}. {{JSTOR|20047041}}.

=== Reports ===
* [[iarchive:eastasiaintransi0000unse|''East Asia in Transition: Challenges for the Trilateral Countries: A Task Force Report to the Trilateral Commission''.]] New York: [[Trilateral Commission]] (1998). {{ISBN|978-0930503048}}. {{OCLC|1148955001}}.

==See also==
* [[Foreign policy of the Bill Clinton administration]]

== References ==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

== Further reading ==
===Secondary sources===
* Chollet, Derek H., and Samantha Power. (2011). ''The Unquiet American: Richard Holbrooke in the World''. New York: Public Affairs. {{ISBN|978-1610390781}}.
* Curran, Daniel, James K. Sebenius, and Michael Watkins. "Two Paths to Peace: Contrasting George Mitchell in Northern Ireland with Richard Holbrooke in Bosnia–Herzegovina." ''Negotiation Journal'' 20.4 (2004): 513-537. [http://www.people.hbs.edu/jsebenius/articles_scans/04_NJ_TwoPathsToPeace_Mitchell-Holbrooke.pdf  online]
*Hartwell, Leon. [https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/nejo.12300 Conflict Resolution: Lessons from the Dayton Peace Process]. Negotiation Journal. 35(4):443-469. 
* [[Samuel Moyn|Moyn, Samuel]], "Imperial Graveyard" (review of [[George Packer]], ''Our Man: Richard Holbrooke and the End of the American Century'', Cape, 2019, 592 pp., {{ISBN|978 1 910702 92 5}}), ''[[London Review of Books]]'', vol. 42, no. 3 (February 6, 2020), pp. 23–25. Moyn concludes his review, on p. 25: "[Packer's book] ''Our Man'' may be the most vivid tour of America's foreign delusions that has been offered since the [[Vietnam War]]." 
* {{cite magazine|last=Packer|first=George|author-link=George Packer|title=The End of the American Century: What the life of Richard Holbrooke tells us about the decay of Pax Americana|magazine=[[The Atlantic]]|date=May 2019|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/05/george-packer-pax-americana-richard-holbrooke/586042/}}
* {{cite magazine|last=Packer|first=George|title=A Reporter at Large: The Last Mission|magazine=[[The New Yorker]]|volume=85|issue=30|date=September 28, 2009|pages=38–55|url=http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/09/28/090928fa_fact_packer|access-date=February 22, 2010}} [Richard Holbrooke's plan to avoid the mistakes of Vietnam in Afghanistan].
* Packer, George. (2019). ''Our Man: Richard Holbrooke and the End of the American Century''. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. {{ISBN|978-0307958020}}. Full-scale scholarly biography.*{{Cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/may/02/our-man-by-george-packer-review-richard-holbrooke |title=Our Man by George Packer review – Richard Holbrooke and American power  |last=Bloomfield |first=Steve |date=May 2, 2019 |website=The Guardian |access-date=August 26, 2019}}
* [[Thomas Powers|Powers, Thomas]], "The Fog of Ambition" (review of [[George Packer]], ''Our Man: Richard Holbrooke and the End of the American Century'', Knopf, 2019, 592 pp.), ''[[The New York Review of Books]]'', vol. LXVI, no. 10 (June 6, 2019), pp.&nbsp;12, 14–15. "Friends... told Holbrooke he was making a mistake to support the [[2003 invasion of Iraq|[Iraq] war]] [in 2003], but he chose the road of realism. To be against that war... he felt, would mark a man as soft... But that was a moment when the United States needed bucking up to say no to a rush to war. [I]t's hard not to feel... this was the moment that put the 'almost' in 'almost great.'" (p.&nbsp;15.) 
* [[David Rieff]], "An American in the Treetops: Should we miss Richard Holbrooke?", ''[[Harper's Magazine]]'', vol. 339, no. 2032 (September 2019), pp.&nbsp;89–94. "Packer is content to sum up Holbrooke by deploying the fuzzy category of 'almost great' – which... obscures more than it clarifies. Holbrooke was not just an appalling human being but a diplomat whose accomplishments were actually quite modest." (p.&nbsp;94.)

===Primary sources===
* [http://www.jcpa.org/text/resolution242-holbrooke.pdf The Principles of Peacemaking] Holbrooke's address to the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs conference on "Israel's Right to Secure Boundaries" on June 4, 2007

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Richard Holbrooke}}
{{Wikiquote}}
*[https://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/biog/129337.htm Biography] at the [[United States Department of State]]
*[http://www.cfr.org/search/?N=4294964257 Writings] and [http://www.cfr.org/search/?N=4294957618 speeches] at the [[Council on Foreign Relations]]
*[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/linkset/2005/03/25/LI2005032500918.html Column archives] at ''[[The Washington Post]]''
*{{C-SPAN|33183}}
*[http://asiasociety.org/policy-politics/governance/national/asia-society-mourns-loss-richard-holbrooke Richard Holbrooke] at [[The Asia Society]]
**[http://asiasociety.org/policy-politics/strategic-challenges/us-asia/interview-richard-holbrooke Interview by Nermeen Shaikh]
**[https://web.archive.org/web/20081209041815/http://www.asiasociety.org/support/specialevents/anniversary_dinner/galaspeeches.html#Holbrooke Speech to an Asia Society Gala function] On the occasion of the Society's 50th anniversary in 2006
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20101216061828/http://english.aljazeera.net/category/person/richard-holbrooke Richard Holbrooke] at ''[[Al Jazeera English|Aljazeera]]''
*[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11988233 Richard Holbrooke, veteran US diplomat, dies] at ''[[BBC News]]'' with obituary and tributes
**[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/special_report/1998/kosovo/190803.stm Bulldozer of the Balkans], ''[[BBC News]]'', 1998
*[https://foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/12/11/richard_holbrookes_tribute_to_foreign_policy Richard C. Holbrooke, 1941–2010] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140905005114/http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/12/11/richard_holbrookes_tribute_to_foreign_policy |date=September 5, 2014 }} at ''[[Foreign Policy (magazine)|Foreign Policy]]''
*[https://www.theguardian.com/world/richard-holbrooke Richard Holbrooke] at ''[[The Guardian]]''
*[http://www.tnr.com/blog/79881/richard-holbrooke-1941-2010 Richard Holbrooke (1941–2010)] at ''[[The New Republic]]''
*[http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/h/richard_c_holbrooke/index.html Richard C. Holbrooke] at ''[[The New York Times]]''
*[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/politics-obituaries/8200312/Richard-Holbrooke.html Richard Holbrooke Obituary] at ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]''
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20101215182736/http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2036847,00.html Remembering Ambassador Richard Holbrooke] at ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]''
*[http://www.democracynow.org/2010/12/15/richard_holbrooke_dies_at_69_remembering Holbrooke's Overlooked Record in East Timor, Iraq and the Balkans] – video report by ''[[Democracy Now!]]''
*[http://www.hulu.com/#!watch/202874 Charlie Rose: An Appreciation of Richard Holbrooke] December 14, 2010
*{{Findagrave|62892122}}

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