News
Top US diplomat and ex-ambassador to Lanka dies
View(s):Christopher Van Hollen, a career State Department officer who became an authority on Southeast Asian affairs and leading administration voice regarding the newly forged and embattled country of Bangladesh, died on Wednesday in Washington. He was 90.
Christopher Van Hollen with late Sri Lankan Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike
In 1972, Dr. Van Hollen was appointed ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives. The United States and the Soviet Union were competing for influence in the region, and he described the Sri Lankan government as “left-centre Socialist” with “a fairly strong streak of anti-Americanism.”
Dr. Van Hollen said he enjoyed cordial relations with Sirimavo Bandaranaike, the world’s first female prime minister. He said their smooth rapport was likely because as deputy assistant secretary of state, he had approved of U.S. military support against a short-lived insurrection against the Bandaranaike regime. After four years in Sri Lanka, Dr. Van Hollen returned to Washington.
Follow @timesonlinelk
comments powered by Disqus