NATO Secretary General Statement on Richard Holbrooke passing

 

 

I am deeply saddened by the death of ambassador Richard Holbrooke, the US special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan. I extend my heartfelt condolences to his family, the US government and the American people.

I pay tribute to his diplomatic skills, strategic vision and legendary determination. As the architect of the 1995 Dayton Agreement, Ambassador Holbrooke played a key role in ending the war in Bosnia, the most terrible tragedy on European soil since  World War II.

At the end of his long and distinguished career, he travelled tirelessly to Afghanistan and Pakistan in pursuit of peace and stability in the region. He knew that history is unpredictable; that we sometimes have to defend our security by facing conflicts in distant places; and that the transatlantic alliance remains indispensible.