Richard Holbrooke, who died on Monday in Washington of complications from heart surgery, was just one in a long line of diplomats who love tennis. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton proudly claimed a mixed doubles championship. Former President George H.W. Bush played for decades and was a key part of an annual fundraiser with Chris Evert. Former Secretary of State Warren Christopher was a regular on high-end courts in San Diego, and liked to take in matches on Centre Court at Wimbledon when he had the chance. And then there’s Condoleezza Rice, a superb talent who absolutely adores the game, has a penchant for Nike Tennis Camps, and likes to chat up Serena Williams as much as heads of state.
As for Holbrooke, he was as comfortable on the tennis court as he was at the negotiating table. A key architect of the 1995 Dayton Peace Accords, which brought an end to three and a half years of fighting in Bosnia, Holbrooke, then the Assistant Secretary of State to Bill Clinton, played doubles with Croatian President Franjo Tudjman during negotiations at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
Whether or not it was a diplomatic device, Holbrooke and aide Chris Hill lost three straight sets to Tudjman and his partner, and the Balkan strongman eventually signed the agreement. Three years later, while engaged in negotiations with Slobodan Milosevic regarding forces in Kosovo, Holbrook was quoted as saying, “This isn’t fun. This isn’t bridge or tennis. This is tough slogging.”
Holbrooke, who more recently served as Barack Obama‘s chief envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, was a foreign policy adviser to four presidents, and helped define American national security strategy for more than 40 years.
