FILE Former UN Ambassador Kirkpatrick dead at 80

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• published: 23 Jul 2015
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FILE - October 19, 1999 Washington DC 1. Jeane Kirkpatrick, former United Nations (UN) ambassador and Natan Sharansky walk in Capital Hilton Hotel 2. Kirkpatrick, Sharansky and John McCain sitting at table during press conference FILE - October 7, 1999 Washington DC 3. Jeane Kirkpatrick and Casper Weinberger at Senate Foreign Relations committee meeting 4. SOUNDBITE: (English) Jeane J. Kirkpatrick, former UN ambassador "Testing is a vital part of ascertaining and maintaining the reliability and safety of our nuclear weapons. It is also a necessary step in modernising our nuclear weapons. Testing is vital to maintaining the reliability and credibility that is of our nuclear deterrent and our confidence in it." FILE - October 31, 1996 Washington DC 5. Wide set up of Kirkpatrick during interview 6. SOUNDBITE: (English) Jeane J. Kirkpatrick, former UN ambassador "I don't think we should make anymore contributions until after we have paid our dues, myself. I think in the future we should really always make contributions to other organisations in the UN and contributions to other activities only after we have paid our dues." 7. Wide of Kirkpatrick seated during interview STORYLINE: Former United Nations Ambassador Jeane J. Kirkpatrick, a one-time Democrat who switched to the Republican party and warmly embraced Reagan era conservatism, has died, aged 80. The death of the 80-year-old Kirkpatrick, who began her public life as a Democrat, was announced Friday at the senior staff meeting of the US mission to the United Nations, according to spokesman Richard Grenell. Grenell confirmed that former UN Ambassador John Bolton had asked for a moment of silence. An announcement of her death was also posted on the web site of the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative-oriented think tank where she was a senior fellow. Kirkpatrick's assistant, Andrea Harrington, said that she died in her sleep at home in Bethesda, Maryland, late on Thursday. The cause of death was not immediately known, but Kirkpatrick's health had been in decline recently. Harrington told reporters that she was confined to her house and only went to work about once a week -an activity that had became less frequent. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said she had lent a powerful moral voice to the Reagan foreign policy and has been a source of wise counsel to the US nation since leaving the government two decades ago. Another colleague of Kirkpatrick's, Karlyn H. Bowman, described her friend as always being insightful, and was very thoughtful about modern American politics and foreign policy. Bowman said she had served with great distinction at the UN and was a great patriot and champion of freedom, adding that she would certainly be missed. Kirkpatrick was a political science professor at Georgetown University from 1957 until her appointment to the United Nations in 1981. Kirkpatrick was known as a blunt and sometimes acerbic advocate for her causes. She remained involved in public issues even though she had left government service two decades ago. Her support for Israel, particularly at the United Nations where Israel often is denounced, was steadfast. Kirkpatrick switched to the Republican party in early 1985, four years after Reagan sent her to New York for the UN job. She took with her a reputation as a hard-liner on foreign policy, and was often viewed as a lightning rod for the opposition. Kirkpatrick considered seeking the Republican presidential nomination - that went to George H. W. Bush - in 1988. But she stopped short, and took up a position whereby she would accept the number two slot if asked. She had played a leading role at the party's convention four years earlier at a time when she was still a Democrat. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/dec77f31d3d734b05e6e0a221c19dcc4 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork