DThe former US ambassador to Germany, John Kornblum, is dead. He died on Thursday at the age of 80 in Nashville, as the German Press Agency learned on Friday from a family friend. The newspaper “Tagesspiegel” first reported. Kornblum was US ambassador from 1997 to 2001, first in Bonn and then in Berlin.
Even after his career at the US State Department, Kornblum continued to comment on current political issues. The transatlantic native appeared regularly as an expert on German political programs. Kornblum, whose ancestors came from East Prussia, spoke German fluently.
“Diplomatic Skill”
His diplomatic career took him to Germany several times. Right from the start he worked at the US Consulate General in Hamburg. He later worked in the political department of the US Embassy in Bonn. During this time he took part in the negotiations for the four-power agreement on Berlin, which was concluded in the early 1970s and contributed to easing tensions in the Cold War.
From 1979 to 1981, Kornblum worked as a political advisor at the United States Mission in West Berlin and was later deputy commander of the American sector.
Kornblum was born in Detroit in 1943. Among other things, he studied German and international relations. In 1964 he joined his country's foreign service. He made a career there and also represented the USA at NATO and the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe. He was nominated for the post of US ambassador to Germany by then US President Bill Clinton. After his time as a diplomat, he worked as an investment banker.
The American Academy research institution in Berlin praised Kornblum's “unwavering commitment to promoting transatlantic relations” and his “diplomatic skill.” The politician and former US ambassador to Germany (1991-1993), Robert Kimmitt, called Kornblum a “great American diplomat, a strong transatlanticist and a staunch friend of Germany.”
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