Richard Holbrooke , who has died aged 69 after suffering a ruptured aorta, was not the most universally beloved, but was certainly one of the ablest, the most admired and the most effective of American diplomats. He is one of the few of that profession in the past 40 years who can be compared with the giants of the "founding generation" of American hegemony, such as Dean Acheson and George Kennan. Holbrooke was tough as well as exceptionally bright. He was a loyal, liberal Democrat, but also a patriot who was prepared to be ruthless in what he saw as his nation's interest. To his friends, he was kind and charming, but he could be abrasive: no doubt that characteristic helped prevent him becoming secretary of state on two occasions, under Bill Clinton and again when Barack Obama became president.

Richard C. He was 69 and lived in Manhattan. Holbrooke was hospitalized on Friday afternoon after becoming ill while meeting with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in her Washington office. Doctors found a tear to his aorta, and he underwent a hour operation.

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He was the only person to have held the position of Assistant Secretary of State for two different regions of the world Asia from to and Europe from to From to , he was U. Ambassador to Germany. Long well known among journalists and in diplomatic circles, Holbrooke became known to the wider public when, together with former Swedish prime minister Carl Bildt , he brokered a peace agreement among the warring factions in Bosnia that led to the signing of the Dayton Peace Accords , in