FED:Holbrooke a 'tower of diplomacy': Smith

AAP General News (Australia)
12-14-2010
FED:Holbrooke a 'tower of diplomacy': Smith

CANBERRA, Dec 14 AAP - Defence Minister Stephen Smith has described the late US official
Richard Holbrooke as a "tower of United States diplomacy".

Mr Holbrooke, 69, has died following heart surgery.

He fell ill late last week during a meeting at the US State Department and underwent
surgery to repair a torn aorta.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday (Australian time) confirmed that the
US envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan had died.

Mr Smith said Mr Holbrooke's death was "very sad".

"I worked closely with him in respect of Afghanistan and Pakistan," the defence minister
told reporters in Canberra.

"He was a first-class United States official.

"He was a person who was a great friend of Australia and understood the nature of the
Australia-US relationship."

Extending his condolences to mr Holbrooke's family and friends, Mr Smith described
the veteran diplomat as "a tower of United States diplomacy".

Ms Clinton said America had lost one of its fiercest champions and most dedicated public
servants.

Before Mr Holbrooke's death, US President Barack Obama described him as "a towering
figure in American foreign policy, a critical member of my Afghanistan and Pakistan team,
and a tireless public servant who has won the admiration of the American people and people
around the world".

Mr Holbrooke was perhaps best known for brokering the 1995 peace agreement that ended
three years of war in Bosnia.

AAP jcd/rl/cdh

KEYWORD: HOLBROOKE SMITH

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