Bill Richardson RIP

Bill Richardson (November 15, 1947 – September 1, 2023)

(16 Jul 1995) T/I: 11:02:17, Two Americans jailed in Iraq after wandering across the border, from Kuwait were released on Sunday after President Saddam Hussein, pardoned them.

Bill Richardson was one of the most influential American politicians and ambassadors of my lifetime.

In 2001 he came to my school, Choate Rosemary Hall, to speak. I can’t remember how or why the connection was made, but there he was, in Connecticut, filling the room with his presence, his size and his accomplishments. 

Bill Richardson was not ordinary.
With deep familial ties to Mexico and his native New Mexico, he served 14 years in Congress followed  by two years as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. 

President Clinton made him Secretary of Energy. 

All the while, Richardson made himself available as a global-trotting negotiator: The sometime-Super Man, who could secure the release of Americans wrongly held in foreign countries. 

Brittney Griner and  Trevor Reed are just two U.S. citizens Richardson helped return to the U.S.

But he didn’t speak to us about successes or accolades.

He spoke to us about his one-on-one meetings with Saddam Hussein.
Think of it - Saddam Hussein considered him a friend.

Now it may seem a distant memory, but Saddam Hussein was the true face of evil back then. Or at least he was one of them.

All of us at school, our families, our friends, we all  believed Hussein to be a murderous monster. He was described that way on TV 24/7.

Richardson didn’t talk about how many people Hussein had killed. He didn’t talk about how many people were starving in North Korea, Sudan and Bangladesh.

He spoke in a measured tone about his one-on-one meetings with the baddest baddies on the planet.

Richardson made it a point to describe the level of respect he showed each world leader, no matter how terrible or destructive they might be.

Show them that respect, and maybe things will change.
Things changed for Evan Hunziker who was in North Korean custody until Richardson negotiated for his release. Things changed for Paul Salopek of National Geographic in Sudan because of Richardson.

So many things changed because of Bill Richardson.

Towards the end of the talk Richardson recounted this exchange:
Saddam Hussein: “Bill, will I ever see you again?”

At door, Bill Richardson turned to say: “That depends on you Sir.”

That’s why I choose to remember and respect Bill Richardson.