[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 176 (Thursday, December 12, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1852]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               RICHARD WILLIAMSON: A TRUE PUBLIC SERVANT

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. FRANK R. WOLF

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, December 12, 2013

  Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I submit a letter a Washington Post obituary 
commemorating the life and legacy of Richard Williamson who passed away 
this weekend at the age of 64.
  I had the distinct privilege of working with Rich on a myriad of 
issues, including Sudan. Rich had a keen understanding of the issues 
marked by a welcome sense of moral clarity. His advice and counsel were 
reliably sound.
  Many will mourn his loss, not the least of which are the Sudanese 
people whose basic human rights he championed.

               [From the Washington Post, Dec. 10, 2013]

                       Richard Williamson, R.I.P

                          (By Jennifer Rubin)

       Richard S. Williamson was not a household name, but for 
     decades he was a tireless public servant and resolute 
     defender of America's national security. He passed away 
     suddenly this weekend; he was 64. A release from the McCain 
     Institute recounts, ``He was involved in a wide variety of 
     civic organizations, including serving as a nonresident 
     Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, as senior fellow 
     at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, and as a trustee of 
     Freedom House. Williamson was also Assistant to the President 
     for Intergovernmental Affairs in the Reagan White House, 
     Ambassador to the United Nations Offices in Vienna (including 
     the International Atomic Energy Agency), Assistant Secretary 
     of State for International Organization Affairs, member of 
     the President's General Advisory Committee on Arms Control, 
     Ambassador to the United Nations for Special Political 
     Affairs, Ambassador to the U.N. Commission on Human Rights, 
     the Republican Party's nominee for U.S. Senate in 1993.'' 
     While he lost that Senate race to Carol Moseley Braun, he was 
     an accomplished lawyer, author and speaker.
       I came to know Richard in his capacity as a senior foreign 
     policy adviser to Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign in 
     2008 and Mitt Romney's 2012 campaign. He was a staunch 
     advocate for his candidates, and beyond that for the 
     principle that foreign policy is the most critical aspect of 
     any presidency and therefore must be a topic of debate in 
     presidential elections. When other policy advisers pleaded to 
     downplay foreign policy, Richard insisted it deserved a full 
     airing. Many of the positions he helped his candidates 
     articulate--the danger of Russian aggression, the Obama 
     administration's duplicity in Libya, the rise of the Iran-
     Syria axis, the need for adequate national security spending 
     and the need to speak boldly on behalf of human rights--have 
     proved entirely accurate. The country would have been greatly 
     served had he returned to public office.
       In the hurly-burly of a presidential campaign Richard was 
     unflappable, honest and gracious treasured qualities in a 
     public servant. In the best sense of the phrase, he was an 
     old-school gentleman.
       Elliott Abrams, a former deputy national security adviser 
     who knew Richard well, e-mails: ``Rich Williamson was a happy 
     warrior. He was an unflappable soldier of freedom, serving 
     several Republican presidents in the Cold War and then the 
     war against terror, and always, always, in the peaceful but 
     often very rough battle against the Democrats. His ready 
     smile, his sharp political instincts, and his dedication to 
     public service will be long remembered.'' He adds, ``In 
     politics there's a lot of ego and self promotion, but Rich 
     was there to help the party and serve the nation. In the next 
     Republican administration he would have had a very senior 
     foreign policy position, and when that day comes we will miss 
     his counsel, his calm, and his unchanging good humor. He was 
     a wonderful man.''
       His passing reminds us how essential a strong foreign 
     policy is to the country's well-being. He stood up for a 
     strong America, one that leads the Free World. In addition to 
     conservative groups, including the RNC, which have remarked 
     on his passing, I would hope in the near future our current 
     U.N. ambassador and others in the elite foreign policy 
     establishment who knew him well will honor his achievements. 
     He, as they know, was never one to put partisanship above 
     country. He will be missed.

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