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Jeane Kirkpatrick Dies

Jeane Kirkpatrick, Ronald Reagan’s UN ambassador, has died.

Jeanne Kirkpatrick Former United Nations Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick is seen in this Nov. 4, 1990 file photo. Former U.N. Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick, a onetime Democrat who switched to the Republican Party and became a heroine of conservatives, has died. She was 80. (AP Photo/File) Jeane J. Kirkpatrick, a conservative political scientist who became the first woman to serve as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, died at her home outside Washington late Thursday, colleagues announced today. She was 80.

A notice of her death was posted this morning on the Web site of the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank in Washington where Kirkpatrick worked as a senior fellow. “The United States has lost a great patriot and a champion of freedom, and AEI mourns our beloved colleague,” the announcement said.

Kirkpatrick’s assistant, Andrea Harrington, said she died in her sleep late Thursday at her home in Bethesda, just north of Washington, D.C., in the Maryland suburbs, the Associated Press reported. The cause of death was not immediately known, but Harrington said Kirkpatrick had been in declining health recently and was “basically confined to her house.”

A great loss. Sadly, it sounds like her last days were rather bleak.

via MRC

UPDATE: Mark Tapscott pays his final respects to “a small-town girl who became a world leader.”

About the Author: James Joyner is the publisher of Outside the Beltway and the managing editor of the Atlantic Council. He's a former Army officer, Desert Storm vet, and college professor with a PhD in political science from The University of Alabama. He lives just outside the Beltway in Alexandria, Virginia with his wife and infant daughter.

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Comments
 

Yeah, one of the original neocons. Supporter of authoritarian death-squads against democratically elected governments that were too lefty for her taste. Model for the antagonistic diplomat - a model that has served us so well in our international relations. Pioneer in knowingly presenting false information to the UN.

Sorry, I know we are supposed to say nice things about people when they pass, so I guess I will just stop now.

Posted by Tano | December 8, 2006 | 04:41 pm | Permalink
 

Tano, bitter bitter person.
JK served in a different time, when we were in direct conflict with the Soviet Union. She was a forceful diplomat, no doubt, but she was no evil person as you make out. She was also about a 1,000x smarter than most people. This is a loss for all of this.

Posted by Chris | December 8, 2006 | 05:28 pm | Permalink
 

What's the matter Tano, run out of graves to piss on in your town?

Posted by charles austin | December 8, 2006 | 08:43 pm | Permalink
 

Jeane Kirkpatrick was one of the first "tough broads" in American gov't. Tough and smart. Oh, and right. I can certainly understand how a lefty would be intimidated by said person.

God bless her and speed her to a well-deserved rest, and may her family rejoice in a life well-lived.

Posted by geezer | December 8, 2006 | 09:12 pm | Permalink
 

Met her a couple of times. An extraordinarily vibrant person. Even while sitting still she appeared to be in motion. Truly a loss.

Posted by Uncle Pinky | December 8, 2006 | 09:14 pm | Permalink
 

There wasn't a presidential election that I didn't think of JK running for that position. I thought she was a great person and would have voted for her.

Posted by Jerry Kosmicki | December 9, 2006 | 03:30 am | Permalink
 

I doubt that Ms. Kirkpatrick and her boss would have passed "The World Test," or cared a wit about the respect and acceptance of our West European Socialist allies during her tenure at the un.
She was not liked by most of the members, but she was respected for her candor, toughness, and uncompromising approach to diplomacy. Kissing ass and kicking ass was always in her bag. We need someone like her back at the un to tell the monkeys to get back in the trees, the bananas are ripe.
She was a tough lady, she will be missed.

Posted by Eneils Bailey | December 9, 2006 | 06:42 am | Permalink
 

"We need someone like her back at the un to tell the monkeys to get back in the trees, the bananas are ripe."

Well, there you have it. A Republican view of the world.

Let them not come within a million miles of the levers of power again, in my lifetime.

Posted by Tano | December 9, 2006 | 01:15 pm | Permalink
 

Sounds like someone's in need of a heartfelt, compassionate conservative hug.

Posted by geezer | December 9, 2006 | 09:06 pm | Permalink
 

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