Former UN Ambassador, New Mexico governor, Bill Richardson dies at 75 

Bill Richardson, the former Democratic governor of New Mexico, died Friday at the age of 75.

“Governor Richardson passed away peacefully in his sleep last night. He lived his entire life in the service of others — including both his time in government and his subsequent career helping to free people held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad,” Mickey Bergman, vice president of The Richardson Center for Global Engagement, told The Hill in a statement.

“There was no person that Governor Richardson would not speak with if it held the promise of returning a person to freedom,” he wrote. “The world has lost a champion for those held unjustly abroad and I have lost a mentor and a dear friend.” 

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Richardson was elected as New Mexico’s governor in 2002 and served two terms. 

Before he was a governor, he was U.N. ambassador and energy secretary under former President Bill Clinton and served 14 years as a congressman representing a district in New Mexico. In his post-politician days, he worked to free Americans detained overseas. 

Bergman said the center will now shift its focus to “supporting [Richardson’s] family, including his wife Barbara of over 50 years, who was with him when he passed.”

“We will share further information as it becomes available,” he added.

President Biden on Saturday paid tribute to the former lawmaker, saying his legacy will continue.

“The multiple Nobel Peace Prize nominations he received are a testament to his ceaseless pursuit of freedom for Americans,” he wrote in a statement. “So is the profound gratitude that countless families feel today for the former governor who helped reunite them with their loved ones.”

“Bill and I crossed paths for the first time decades ago, when he was a staffer on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which I served on as Senator,” Biden continued. “Over the years, I saw firsthand his passion for politics, love for America, and unflagging belief that, with respect and good faith, people can come together across any difference, no matter how vast. He was a patriot and true original, and will not be forgotten.”