From ABC News:
ABC News has learned that Richard Holbrooke, the US Special Representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan, has died.
On Friday, Holbrooke was rushed to the hospital with a torn aorta. He went through more than 20 hours of surgery ...
Holbrooke, 69, was a former ambassador to the United Nations and served as chief negotiator at the Dayton Peace Accords, which ended the war in Bosnia.
Earlier this evening, speaking at a State Department reception, President Obama said of Holbrooke:
Richard Holbrooke has been serving this nation with distinction for nearly 50 years -- from a young foreign service officer in Vietnam to the architect of the accords that ended the slaughter in the Balkans, to advancing our regional efforts as our Special Representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan, and countless crises and hot spots in between. He is simply one of the giants of American foreign policy.
And as anyone who has ever worked with him knows —- or had the clear disadvantage of negotiating across the table from him -— Richard is relentless. He never stops. He never quits. Because he’s always believed that if we stay focused, if we act on our mutual interests, that progress is possible. Wars can end. Peace can be forged.
Read more on Holbrooke's life and career here.
Condolences to his family and friends.