The president of the United States, Joe Biden, expressed his regret this Friday over the death of former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, of whom he reviewed the many achievements of his life.
“He was a patriot and truly genuine, and he will not be forgotten,” Trump said in a statement, reviewing the many accomplishments in his life.
Richardson died at the age of 75 at his summer home in Massachusetts, according to the Richardson Center for Global Engagement, an organization he founded and led to promote diplomacy and dialogue. “
“He lived his entire life in the service of others, including his time in government and his subsequent career, helping to free people taken hostage or wrongfully detained abroad,” Mickey Bergman, vice president of the Richardson Center, said in the statement. .
His political career began in 1982, when he was elected representative for New Mexico’s third congressional district, a position he held until 1997. During his time in Congress, he was noted for his efforts to promote peace and human rights in Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. He was also a member of the Select Committee on Intelligence and the Appropriations Committee.
In 1997, he was appointed by President Bill Clinton as the United States Ambassador to the United Nations, where he defended American interests and led efforts to combat terrorism, drug trafficking, nuclear weapons, and human rights violations.
A year later, Clinton appointed him as Secretary of Energy, a position he held until the end of his term in 2001.
In 2002, Richardson became the first Hispanic governor of New Mexico and the fifth in the state’s history. He was re-elected in 2006 with 69% of the vote, the largest margin of victory for a governor in state history.
During his two terms, he made significant progress in education, health, infrastructure, the economy, and public safety. He was also a strong advocate for renewable energy, immigration reform, and civil rights.
Richardson ran in 2008 as a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, but withdrew after disappointing results in the early primaries. He later endorsed and was nominated by Barack Obama for Commerce Secretary, but declined due to an investigation into alleged influence-peddling that was ultimately dropped without charge.
After leaving office as governor in 2011, Richardson pursued private activities as a consultant, speaker, and writer. He also continued his humanitarian and diplomatic work through the Richardson Center, which he founded in 2011 with the goal of resolving international conflicts and freeing people held captive or wrongfully imprisoned.
Richardson was a cornerstone in the release of hostages and prisoners in North Korea, Iraq, Cuba, Sudan and Venezuela. He also participated as a mediator in several prisoner exchanges between the United States and Russia.
With information from the EFE / CNN agency