The Lantos Foundation and the extended Lantos family remember with gratitude the life of our friend and Advisory Board member, Richard Holbrooke. Through decades, his nation and the world were privileged to man who was deeply committed to building a more just and free world. This is a task he never tired of devoting himself to and the world is a safer and more decent place thanks to his efforts.

He lent his stature and wisdom to the work of the Lantos Foundation and shared with his friend Tom Lantos an unshakable commitment to human rights and justice is every corner of the world. It is no accident that the Dayton Peace accords, of which he was the primary architect, contained more human rights provisions than any such accord in the history of diplomacy.

In his book about the Dayton Accords, poem, The Buried Life. These lines are an apt tribute to this larger devote his intellect and his “restless force” in pursuit of a better world and a deeper life.

But often in the world’s most crowded streets,
But often in the din of strife,
There rises an unspeakable desire
After the knowledge of our buried life;
A thirst to spend our fire and restless force
In tracking out our true original course;
A longing to inquire
Into the mystery of this heart which beats
So wild, so deep in us-to know
Whence our lives come and where they go

-Matthew Arnold, The Buried Life

The Lantos Foundation and family are full of admiration and appreciation for the life of Richard Holbrooke and we extend our sincere and deep sympathy to his beloved wife Kati Marton.