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Richard Holbrooke

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Diplomat

The Resume

    (April 24, 1941-December 13, 2010)
    Born in New York City, New York
    US Ambassador to Germany (1993-94) and the United Nations (1999-2001)
    Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and the Pacific (1977-81) and Europe (1994-96)
    Special Envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan (2009-10)
    Foreign policy advisor for the presidential campaigns of Al Gore (1988), Bill Clinton (1992), John Kerry (2004) and Hilary Clinton (2008)

Why he might be annoying:

    After a meeting with Suharto, he reportedly worked behind the scenes to prevent an arms embargo against Indonesia during the genocide in East Timor (1977).
    He was a contender to replace Warren Christopher as Secretary of State but was passed over in favor of Madeline Albright.
    He and his son reportedly received multiple below-rate loans from Countrywide Financial because he was a friend of the company's CEO.
    He had the undiplomatic sounding nicknames 'the Bulldozer' and 'Raging Bull.'
    Joe Biden called him 'the most egotistical bastard I've ever met.'

Why he might not be annoying:

    He was director of the Peace Corps in Morocco (1970-72).
    He brokered the Dayton Peace Accords that ended the war in Bosnia (1995).
    He received a standing ovation from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee after he negotiated a reduction in US dues to the UN and an overhaul of the UN's outdated financial systems in return for the US paying up its back dues (2000).
    He got the UN Security Council to pass a resolution on HIV, the first time it treated a public health matter as a security issue.
    He headed the NGO (non-government organization) The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 58 Votes: 31.03% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 23 Votes: 43.48% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 17 Votes: 52.94% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 5 Votes: 80.0% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 4 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 18 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 40 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 24 Votes: 58.33% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 72 Votes: 68.06% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 51 Votes: 58.82% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 20 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 21 Votes: 57.14% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 38 Votes: 63.16% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 18 Votes: 61.11% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 153 Votes: 64.71% Annoying