FACTBOX-Veteran U.S. diplomat Richard Holbrooke
Jan 22 (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday named former United Nations Ambassador Richard Holbrooke as his special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan. Here are some facts about Holbrooke:
* Holbrooke, 67, is the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and the chief architect of the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement which ended the war in Bosnia.
* He negotiated the Dayton accord while serving as assistant secretary of state for European and Canadian affairs from 1994 to 1996.
* Some of his other positions include: U.S. ambassador to Germany from 1993 to 1994; assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs from 1977 to 1981; and a member of the U.S. delegation at the 1968-1969 Paris Peace talks on Vietnam.
* He was a top foreign policy adviser to Hillary Clinton in her failed presidential bid. After Obama won the Democratic nomination, Holbrooke served as one of his advisers.
* In testimony on Capitol Hill last year, Holbrooke criticized the Bush administration for "pathetic" assistance to Pakistan's tribal areas.
* In the September/October 2008 issue of Foreign Affairs, Holbrooke said the new government needed to restore the United States' reputation in the world. He called the current U.S. policy in Afghanistan a "failure" and urged the incoming administration to focus on tribal areas of Pakistan.
* Holbrooke has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize seven times and is the author of "To End A War." (Reporting by Deborah Charles in Washington; editing by Mohammad Zargham)
- Tweet this
- Link this
- Share this
- Digg this
- Reprints
Follow Reuters