Bill Richardson, a former Democratic governor of New Mexico and US ambassador to the United Nations, died Saturday at the age of 75, according to the Richardson Center for Global Engagement.
According to reports, the center said that Richardson died in his sleep at his home in Chatham, Massachusetts.
“He has spent his entire life in the service of others – including his time in government and his subsequent career campaigning for the release of people held hostage or wrongly imprisoned abroad.” said Mickey Bergman, vice president of the organization.
“There wasn’t a person that Governor Richardson wouldn’t speak to if there was a promise to restore a person’s freedom. The world has lost an advocate for people unjustly detained abroad, and I have lost a mentor and a dear friend.”
Richardson was born in Pasadena, California in 1947 to a bank manager and a Mexican-born mother.
Last month he was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for his decades of work as an international crisis mediator, a role he continued to play during his two terms as New Mexico governor from 2003 to 2011. Prior to his tenure as governor, Richardson represented the country’s state in Congress. He also served as President Bill Clinton’s ambassador to the United Nations and later as his Secretary of Energy.
More recently, Richardson lobbied for the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner, who was held captive in Russia for about 10 months until her release was announced in December.
Throughout his career, Richardson also helped secure the release of Americans in Iraq. North KoreaSudan, Colombia and Bangladesh.
His nonprofit Richardson Center was established to promote international dialogue.
While Richardson put his hat in the ring for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination, he bowed out to support Barack Obama. A few years later, he faced allegations that he violated the Campaign Finance Act by allegedly paying off a woman he allegedly had an affair with No charges were brought.