Veteran diplomat Richard Holbrooke was in critical condition Saturday at George Washington University Hospital after surgery to repair a tear in his aorta.
The special U.S. representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan was taken there Friday after collapsing during a meeting on the State Department's seventh floor, where his longtime friend Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's office is located.
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Holbrooke "is in critical condition and has been joined by his family," State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said in a statement.
The hard-charging Holbrooke, 69, led U.S. efforts to negotiate the end to the Bosnian war, and previously served as U.S. ambassador to Germany. He began his diplomatic career as an adviser to the team at the Paris negotiations to end the Vietnam War. He was one of the 100 global thinkers of 2010 honored at a party last month by Foreign Policy magazine, which Holbrooke previously edited.
It was a very long surgery, an official and friend said Saturday, saying "either way, I think his life has permanently changed."
Several colleagues were surprised to hear that Holbrooke had suffered a serious health issue having seen him in recent days at various high-profile diplomatic events that were part of a jam-packed schedule.
"I just saw him at a dinner on Wednesday and he was totally fine," one said.
But in April, Holbrooke was grounded by doctors from traveling due to clogged arteries, and underwent a procedure to clear them.
"I am fine, I just need to undergo this procedure," he e-mailed at the time, saying he planned to be in the office the next week.
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