Top diplomat Christopher dies
Source: Agencies |
March 20, 2011, Sunday
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Former US Secretary of State Warren Christopher, who helped bring peace to Bosnia and negotiated the release of American hostages in Iran, died in California at age 85.
Christopher "passed away peacefully, surrounded by family at his home in Los Angeles" of complications from kidney and bladder cancer, his family said in a statement late on Friday.
As the top US statesman under President Bill Clinton from 1993 to 1997, Christopher was a behind-the-scenes negotiator. Often called the "stealth" secretary of state, he was known for his understated, self-effacing manner.
"Careful listening may be the secret weapon," the New York Times quoted him as saying in a 1981 speech when he was deputy secretary of state. "I observed some time ago that I was better at listening than at talking."
That "secret weapon" helped Christopher weather diplomatic crises and bring enemies together. In 1995, he intervened during the crucial final days of the United States-brokered Bosnian peace talks at Dayton, Ohio.
As secretary of state, Christopher devoted much of his time to the Middle East. He made at least 18 trips to the region in pursuit of peace and a cease-fire in southern Lebanon between Israel and the pro-Iranian Islamic group Hezbollah.
In 1994, he witnessed the signing of a peace treaty between Jordan and Israel.
As President Jimmy Carter's deputy secretary of state, he negotiated the release of 52 Americans taken hostage at the US Embassy in Tehran in 1979. The hostages were freed on January 20, 1981, minutes after Ronald Reagan was sworn in to succeed Carter.
Christopher, born on October 27, 1925, in Scranton, North Dakota, received the Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor.
Christopher "passed away peacefully, surrounded by family at his home in Los Angeles" of complications from kidney and bladder cancer, his family said in a statement late on Friday.
As the top US statesman under President Bill Clinton from 1993 to 1997, Christopher was a behind-the-scenes negotiator. Often called the "stealth" secretary of state, he was known for his understated, self-effacing manner.
"Careful listening may be the secret weapon," the New York Times quoted him as saying in a 1981 speech when he was deputy secretary of state. "I observed some time ago that I was better at listening than at talking."
That "secret weapon" helped Christopher weather diplomatic crises and bring enemies together. In 1995, he intervened during the crucial final days of the United States-brokered Bosnian peace talks at Dayton, Ohio.
As secretary of state, Christopher devoted much of his time to the Middle East. He made at least 18 trips to the region in pursuit of peace and a cease-fire in southern Lebanon between Israel and the pro-Iranian Islamic group Hezbollah.
In 1994, he witnessed the signing of a peace treaty between Jordan and Israel.
As President Jimmy Carter's deputy secretary of state, he negotiated the release of 52 Americans taken hostage at the US Embassy in Tehran in 1979. The hostages were freed on January 20, 1981, minutes after Ronald Reagan was sworn in to succeed Carter.
Christopher, born on October 27, 1925, in Scranton, North Dakota, received the Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor.
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