FORMER Energy Secretary and United Nations ambassador during the ex-United States President Bill Clinton’s administration, Bill Richardson, has died at the age of 75.
Richardson who was also a former governor of New Mexico died on Friday as announced by his organisation, Richardson Center for Global Engagement said in a statement.
Richardson died in his sleep at his summer home in Massachusetts, the statement said per CNN.
“He lived his entire life in the service of others – including both his time in government and his subsequent career helping to free people held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad,” Mickey Bergman, vice president of the Richardson Center, said in the statement.
“There was no person that Governor Richardson would not speak with if it held the promise of returning a person to freedom.
“The world has lost a champion for those held unjustly abroad and I have lost a mentor and a dear friend.”
Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hailed Richardson, in a joint statement, as “a devoted public servant and skilled diplomat.”
“Whether in an official or unofficial capacity, he was a masterful and persistent negotiator who helped make our world more secure and won the release of many individuals held unjustly abroad,” the pair said.
President Joe Biden similarly praised Richardson as “a patriot and true original.”
“Over the years, I saw firsthand his passion for politics, love for America, and unflagging belief that, with respect and good faith, people can come together across any difference, no matter how vast,” Biden said in a statement.
