Bill Richardson, Former Governor and UN Ambassador Who Worked to Free Detained Americans, Dies
The
Epoch Times
By
The Associated Press 9/2/2023 Updated: 9/2/2023
WASHINGTON—Bill
Richardson,
a two-term Democratic governor of New Mexico and an American
ambassador to the United Nations who dedicated his post-political career to
working to secure the release of Americans detained by foreign adversaries, has
died. He was 75.
The
Richardson Center for Global Engagement, which he founded and led, said in a
statement Saturday that he died in his sleep at his home in Chatham,
Massachusetts.
“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,” said Mickey Bergman, the center's vice president.
"There was no person that Gov. 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.”
President
Joe Biden said Mr. Richardson seized every chance he had to serve in government
and lauded his efforts to free Americans being held elsewhere. “He’d meet with
anyone, fly anywhere, do whatever it took. The multiple Nobel Peace Prize
nominations he received are a testament to his ceaseless pursuit of freedom for
Americans,” the president said in a statement. “So is the profound gratitude
that countless families feel today for the former governor who helped reunite
them with their loved ones.”
Before
his election in 2002 as governor, Mr. Richardson was U.S. envoy to the United
Nations and
energy secretary under President Bill Clinton and served 14
years as a congressman representing northern New Mexico.
But
he also forged an identity as an unofficial diplomatic troubleshooter. He
traveled the globe negotiating the release of hostages and American servicemen
from North Korea, Iraq, Cuba, and Sudan and bargained with a who’s who of
America’s adversaries, including Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. It was a role
Mr. Richardson relished, once describing himself as “the informal
undersecretary for thugs.”
“I
believe that we have to engage our adversaries no matter how different our
philosophies are,” Mr. Richardson once said. “The way you deal with issues
that divide nations is through humanitarian efforts before political
differences. I think that is fundamental.”
He
helped secure the 2021 release of American journalist Danny Fenster from a
Myanmar prison and this year negotiated the freedom of Taylor Dudley, who
crossed the border from Poland into Russia. He met with Russian government
officials in the months before the release last year of Marine veteran Trevor
Reed in a prisoner swap and also worked on the cases of Brittney Griner, the
WNBA player freed by Moscow last year, and Michael White, a Navy veteran
released by Iran in 2020.
Roger
Carstens, the U.S. government’s chief hostage negotiator, described Mr.
Richardson as “a friend and partner in bringing wrongfully detained Americans
and hostages home,” and said in a statement Saturday that he would "miss
his wise counsel and friendship.”
Armed
with a golden resume and wealth of experience in foreign and domestic affairs,
Mr. Richardson sought the 2008 Democratic nomination for president in hopes of
becoming the nation’s first Hispanic president. He dropped out of the race
after lackluster finishes in the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary.
Mr.
Richardson was the nation’s only Hispanic governor during his two terms,
calling it “the best job I ever had.”
“It’s
the most fun. You can get the most done. You set the agenda,” Mr. Richardson
said.
As
governor, Mr. Richardson signed legislation in 2009 that repealed the death
penalty.
Some
of his most prominent global work began in December 1994, when he was visiting
North Korean nuclear sites and word came that an American helicopter pilot had
been downed and his co-pilot killed.
The
Clinton White House enlisted Mr. Richardson’s help and, after days of tough
negotiations, the then-congressman accompanied the remains of Chief Warrant
Officer David Hilemon while paving the way for Chief Warrant Officer Bobby Hall
to return home.
The
following year, and after a personal appeal from Mr. Richardson, Saddam Hussein
freed two Americans who had been imprisoned for four months, charged with
illegally crossing into Iraq from Kuwait.
Mr.
Richardson continued his freelance diplomacy even while serving as governor. He
had barely started his first term as governor when he met with two North Korean
envoys in Santa Fe. He traveled to North Korea in 2007 to recover remains of
American servicemen killed in the Korean War.
In
2006, he persuaded Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir to free Pulitzer
Prize-winning American journalist Paul Salopek.
In
an interview with The Associated Press in August, Richardson said he was proud
of the work he had done to free dozens of people over the years and of his
advocacy for the Navajo Nation.
Mr.
Richardson and former Navajo Nation President Peterson Zah created a fund to
offer supplies and equipment to the Navajo Nation to fight the COVID-19
pandemic, providing personal protective equipment, food, water, and hundreds of
pairs of shoes to Navajo students in the state.
Mr.
Richardson transformed the political landscape in New Mexico. He raised and
spent record amounts on his campaigns, bringing Washington-style politics to an
easygoing western state with a part-time Legislature.
Lawmakers,
both Republicans and Democrats, complained Mr. Richardson threatened retribution
against opponents. Former Democratic state Sen. Tim Jennings of Roswell once
said Mr. Richardson was “beating people over the head” in his dealings with
lobbyists on a health care issue. Mr. Richardson dismissed criticisms of his
administrative style.
“Admittedly,
I am aggressive. I use the bully pulpit of the governorship,” Mr. Richardson
said. “But I don’t threaten retribution. They say I am a vindictive person. I
just don’t believe that.”
After
dropping out of the 2008 presidential race, Mr. Richardson endorsed Barack
Obama over Hillary Clinton despite Mr. Richardson's longstanding
friendship with the Clintons.
President
Obama later nominated Richardson as secretary of commerce. Mr. Richardson
withdrew in early 2009 because of a federal investigation into an alleged
pay-to-play scheme involving his administration in New Mexico. The
investigation ended without charges against Mr. Richardson and his former
top aides.
Mr.
Richardson had a troubled tenure as energy secretary because of a scandal over
missing computer equipment with nuclear weapons secrets at Los Alamos National
Laboratory and the government’s investigation and prosecution of former nuclear
weapons scientist Wen Ho Lee.
Mr.
Richardson approved Mr. Lee’s firing at Los Alamos in 1999. Mr. Lee spent nine
months in solitary confinement, charged with 59 counts of mishandling sensitive
information. He later pleaded guilty to one count of mishandling computer files
and was released with the apology of a federal judge.
William
Blaine Richardson was born in Pasadena, California, but grew up in Mexico City
with a Mexican mother and an American father who was a U.S. bank executive.
He
attended prep school in Massachusetts and was a star baseball player. He went
to Tufts University and its graduate school in international relations, earning
a master’s degree in international affairs.
Mr.
Richardson moved to New Mexico in 1978 after working as a Capitol Hill staffer.
He wanted to run for political office and said New Mexico, with its Hispanic
roots, seemed like a good place. He campaigned for Congress just two years
later—his only losing race.
In
1982, he won a new congressional seat from northern New Mexico that the state
picked up in reapportionment. He resigned from Congress in 1997 to join the
Clinton administration as U.N. ambassador and became secretary of energy in
1998, holding the post until the end of the Clinton presidency.
Connecting
the Dots:
Bill Richardson was a U.S.
ambassador for the United Nations, Democratic governor of New
Mexico and a is a director at Refugees International.
George Soros is a
director emeritus at Refugees International and was the
chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder
for Refugees International and the Brookings
Institution (think tank).
James W. Cicconi was
an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank) and
a director at the Jobs for America's Graduates.
Bill Richardson was
a director at the Jobs for America's Graduates, was a U.S.
ambassador for the United Nations and is a director at Refugees
International.
Bill Richardson is
a director at Refugees International and was a U.S. ambassador
for the United Nations.
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder
for Refugees International
George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation
to Promote Open Society is a director emeritus at Refugees
International and the founder & chairman for the Open Society
Foundations.
Open Society Foundations was a funder for
the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation.
William J. Clinton is
the founder of the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation, an
adviser for the 2016 Hillary Rodham Clinton presidential campaign,
and was the president for the Bill Clinton Administration.
Ready PAC (Ready
For Hillary) supported the 2016 Hillary Rodham Clinton
presidential campaign.
George Soros was a co-chair,
national finance council for the Ready PAC (Ready For Hillary) and is a
director emeritus at Refugees International.
Bill Richardson is
a director at Refugees International, was a U.S. ambassador for
the United Nations and a Democratic governor of New Mexico.
Resources:
Past Research
Fmr
Gov. Richardson 'Cautiously Optimistic' About Griner's Release (Connecting The
Dots: Bill Richardson, The United Nations, Nuclear Threat, CNN & Soros
Funded Think Tanks All Networking) (Past Research on
Bill Richardson)
SUNDAY,
OCTOBER 9, 2022
https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2022/10/fmr-gov-richardson-cautiously.html
Washington
Post: Inside Bill Clinton’s Nearly $18 Million For-Profit College Gig (Past Research on Bill Clinton)
TUESDAY,
SEPTEMBER 6, 2016
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