Holbrooke’s Family Draws Attention to His Connection with Tibet at Memorial
[Saturday, 15 January 2011, 7:49 p.m.]

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(L-R) US President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former US President
Bill Clinton at the memorial service in Washington, DC, on 14 January 2011/Getty Images
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WASHINGTON,
DC: The widow and two sons of the late Richard Holbrooke made
references to his connection with Tibet during a memorial event in
Washington, DC on 14 January 2011 attended by President Barack Obama,
and a host of American and international dignitaries.
The
event, celebrated as “A Tribute Honoring the Life of Richard C.
Holbrooke” was held at the Kennedy Center and began with the screening
of several photos depicting his life. Among them was one with the
Holbrooke family and His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Then
during her remarks, Kati Marton, Holbrooke’s widow, referred to causes
from “Cyprus to Tibet” that he was concerned with. Son Anthony
Holbrooke, in his remarks, referred to his travel with his father to
Tibet and being with the nomads there. Another son, David Holbrooke,
recalled a guest commenting that theirs did not seem to be a normal
family after seeing photos of the family with His Holiness the Dalai
Lama as well as with American leaders at their home.
Those
who paid tribute included President Barack Obama, stepdaughter
Elizabeth Jennings, former State Department official Strobe Talbott,
friends like James Johnson and Leslie Gelb, Ambassador Frank Wisner,
NSC Senior Director Samantha Power, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman
Admiral Michael Mullen, former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan,
President Bill Clinton and Secretary Hillary Clinton.
Those
who attended the event, according to a report, included Vice President
Joseph Biden, serving and former American leaders, including National
Security Advisor Tom Donilon, State Department policy planning chief
Anne Marie Slaughter, Undersecretary of Defense Michele Flournoy, USAID
administrator Rajiv Shah, NSC senior director Derek Chollet, NSC senior
director Doug Lute, Rep. Jane Harman, Madeleine Albright, Zalmay
Khalilzad, Robert Rubin, Pakistani President Asif Zardari, Georgian
President Mikheil Saakashvili, ambassadors of various countries and a
host of American and international VIPs. One media report said, “Three
heads of state, over a dozen foreign ministers, and hundreds more
familiar faces from around the foreign policy community were in
attendance at the event.”
Special Envoy Lodi Gyari was invited to the event but as he was traveling, Bhuchung K. Tsering attended on his behalf.
Ambassador Richard Holbrooke had passed away in Washington, DC on 13 December 2010.








