Former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson dies
Updated: 10:31 AM MDT Sep 3, 2023
SEVEN NEWS. FORMER NEW MEXICO GOVERNOR BILL RICHARDSON DIES IN HIS SLEEP OVERNIGHT. THE RICHARDSON CENTER FOR GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT SAYS IT HAPPENED AT HIS SUMMER HOME IN MASSACHUSETTS AND WE HAVE TEAM COVERAGE OF GOVERNOR RICHARDSON’S LIFE OF SERVICE BOTH IN AND OUT OF NEW MEXICO. WE’LL LOOK AT HIS TIME IN THE GOVERNOR’S OFFICE, HIS LEGACY THAT LIVES ON IN NEW MEXICO’S TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS AND HIS DIPLOMATIC WORK AROUND THE WORLD. RICHARDSON BEING REMEMBERED AS A POWERHOUSE IN POLITICS AND INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMACY OVER THE LAST 40 YEARS. HIS LIFE TAKING HIM FROM CONGRESS TO THE WHITE HOUSE TO MEETINGS WITH SOME OF OUR COUNTRY’S MOST DANGEROUS ADVERSARIES. THOSE WHO WORK WITH HIM ARE REMEMBERING HIM TONIGHT AS A POWERFUL AND PERSUASIVE NEGOTIATOR. RICHARDSON WAS THE 30TH GOVERNOR OF NEW MEXICO, AND HE HELD OFFICE FOR TWO TERMS. SASHA LENNINGER SHOWS US WHAT HE ACCOMPLISHED OVER THOSE EIGHT YEARS. BILL RICHARDSON MOVED TO NEW MEXICO IN 1978, BUT IT WASN’T UNTIL THE NOVEMBER 2002 ELECTION THAT HE WAS ELECTED AS OUR GOVERNOR, AND HE DID A LOT TO PUT NEW MEXICO ON A NATIONAL STAGE AS WELL AS A GLOBAL ONE. HE WAS KNOWN AS THE NATION’S ONLY HISPANIC GOVERNOR DURING HIS TWO TERMS. I’M NOT TAKING THIS RACE FOR GRANTED. AND WE’RE GETTING OUT TO THE GRASS ROOTS, TRYING TO GET AN EARLY VOTE OUT. BILL RICHARDSON TIRELESSLY CAMPAIGNING IN 2002, SETTING A WORLD RECORD AT THE TIME FOR THE MOST HANDSHAKES IN EIGHT HOURS BY A POLITICIAN. HE WAS ELECTED AS GOVERNOR ON NOVEMBER 5TH, 2002, WITH 60% OF THE VOTE. THANK YOU, NEW MEXICO. GRACIAS. ONE SWORN IN AS GOVERNOR IN INTERNATIONAL CRISIS WAS BREAKING OUT IN NORTH AND SOUTH KOREA. NORTH KOREAN OFFICIALS CAME TO SANTA FE WANTING TO DISCUSS INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS WITH THE US. HOWEVER, THE RICHARDSON CENTER SAID THE FOLLOWING DAY, NORTH KOREA PULLED OUT OF THE NUCLEAR NONPROLIFERATION TREATY. RICHARDSON WOULD RETURN TO NORTH KOREA IN 2005. WELL, THE FIRST DAY YOU WANT TO SET A GOOD, POSITIVE TONE. WE ARRIVE IN THE EVENING. THERE WILL BE AN EVENING DINNER. WE’LL GET RIGHT DOWN TO BUSINESS. ALONGSIDE HIM FOR THE TRIP, THE CEO OF PNM, JEFF STERBA, THE PRESIDENT OF NMSU, DR. MICHAEL MARTIN AND KOAT MEDICAL EXPERT, DR. BARRY RAMO. MY HOPE IS THAT WHEN THERE IS A NORMALIZED VERSION OF RELATIONS WITH NORTH KOREA, THAT NEW MEXICO WILL PLAY A ROLE. ALSO IN 2005, RICHARDSON MAKING SURE ACTIVE DUTY NATIONAL GUARD MEMBERS GOT $400,000 IN LIFE INSURANCE COVERAGE. NEW MEXICO, THE FIRST STATE IN THE NATION TO DO SO. THEN IN 2009, THIS HAS BEEN THE MOST DIFFICULT DECISION IN MY POLITICAL LIFE. BUT I WAS ELECTED BY THE PEOPLE OF NEW MEXICO TO MAKE JUST THIS TYPE OF DECISION. RICHARDSON MAKING A MAJOR DECISION FOR NEW MEXICO, REPEALING THE DEATH PENALTY. THE REALITY IS THE SYSTEM IS NOT PERFECT. FAR FROM IT. THE SYSTEM IS INHERENTLY DEFECTIVE. THE DNA TESTING HAS PROVEN THAT INNOCENT PEOPLE HAVE BEEN PUT ON DEATH ROW ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY. ONE MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENT PUTTING NEW MEXICO ON THE SPACE FRONT WITH THE CREATION OF SPACEPORT AMERICA, VIRGIN GALACTIC CALLING IT HOME, LAUNCHING ITS FIRST FLIGHT. THIS PAST SUMMER. IT MEANS LEADERSHIP IN COMMERCIAL SPACE. IT MEANS RESEARCH INTO RENEWABLE ENERGY. IT MEANS SCIENCE, EDUCATION AND MATH EDUCATION FOR YOUNG KIDS. WELL, AS GOVERNOR BILL RICHARDSON ALSO MADE SURE MOST QUALIFIED TEACHERS MADE A MINIMUM OF $50,000 A YEAR. HE INCREASED THE MINIMUM WAGE FOR 515, AN HOUR TO $750. AND HE CREATED PRE-KINDER PROGRAMS FOR FOUR YEAR OLDS. SHELLY, BACK TO YOU. THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF NEW MEXICO RELEASED A STATEMENT SHORTLY AFTER LEARNING OF RICHARDSON’S PASSING. IT SAYS IT IS A DA FOR NEW MEXICO DEMOCRATS. AS WE REMEMBER THE LIFE AND MOURN THE PASSING OF GOVERNOR BILL RICHARDSON. GOVERNOR RICHARDSON WAS A LARGER THAN LIFE PUBLIC FIGURE WHO ALWAYS PUT PUBLIC SERVICE FIRST AS A CONGRESSMAN, AMBASSADOR, SECRETARY OF ENERGY, DIPLOMAT AND GOVERNOR. HE HAD MANY ROLES THROUGHOUT HIS LEGENDARY CAREER AS A STATESMAN. BUT WE WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER HIM FOREMOST AS SOMEONE WHO WAS ALWAYS EAGER TO HELP PEOPLE AND LOVE NEW MEXICO. OUR THOUGHTS ARE WITH HIS FAMILY AND EVERYONE WHO KNEW HIM AT THIS TIME. NEW MEXICO REPUBLICAN PARTY CHAIR STEVE PEARCE ALSO HONORING RICHARDSON, ANY STATE OR ANY NATION AS WELL SERVED WHEN ITS REPRESENTATIVES WORK TOGETHER FOR THE GOOD OF THE PEOPLE. THIS WAS THE CASE IN 2005 WHEN GOVERNOR RICHARDSON AND THE REPRESENTATIVE IN THE US HOUSE AND SENATE WORKED IN BIPARTISAN FASHION, NOTABLY OUR OFFICES, WORKED TOGETHER WHEN THE BASE REALIGNMENT AND CLOSURE COMMISSION ISSUED THE CLOSING OF CANNON AIR FORCE BASE IN 2005, THE GOVERNOR AND THE ENTIRE DELEGATION WORKED TOGETHER TO SECURE A NEW MISSION TO KEEP CANNON AIR FORCE BASE OPEN. THAT STILL OPERATES TODAY, CALLING RICHARDSON ONE OF HER MENTORS, GOVERNOR LUJAN GRISHAM WROTE HE WAS A VISIONARY WHO SAW THE POTENTIAL OF OUR GREAT STATE BEFORE SO MANY OTHERS DID. HE SAW US TAKING ON HOLLYWOOD AND REACHING FOR THE STARS, LAUNCHING BOTH THE FILM AND SPACE INDUSTRIES THAT CONTINUE TO REAP SIGNIFICANT ECONOMIC BENEFITS. HIS REPUTATION PRECEDED HIM AROUND THE GLOBE. BILL RICHARDSON, AS SOMEONE WHO GOT THINGS DONE. RICHARDSON WORKED TIRELESSLY ON TAKING NEW MEXICO’S TRANSPORTATION INTO THE FUTURE, SPEARHEADING THE RAIL RUNNER PROJECT. AND THE SPACEPORT IS ALYSSA MUNOZ IS LIVE WITH MORE ON THE TRANSPORTATION INITIATIVES RICHARDSON DEVELOPED FOR NEW MEXICO. SHELLEY DOUG, THE RAIL RUNNER, WAS A BIG TRANSPORTATION PROJECT FOR THE GOVERNOR TO HELP COMMUTERS AND IT GOES ALL THE WAY FROM BERLIN TO SANTA FE. AND THAT’S JUST ONE THING HE WAS ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH WHILE IN OFFICE. HE SAID, LOOK, I WANT TO DO SOMETHING THAT’S INTO THE PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE OF NEW MEXICO. BUT AT THE SAME TIME, SOMETHING THAT BECOMES OF A BENEFIT TO THE COMMUNITIES ALONG THE CORRIDOR. THE CITY OF ALBUQUERQUE’S CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER, LAWRENCE ROYALE, SAYS OVER THE YEARS, THE RAIL RUNNER NOT ONLY HELPED COMMUTERS, HE SAYS IT ALSO HELPED THE ELDERLY GET AROUND. AND YOUNG PEOPLE WHO DON’T HAVE LICENSE YET. BUT RICHARDSON’S VISION FOR TRANSPORTATION EXTENDED BEYOND RAIL AND INTO THE FINAL FRONTIER FOR HE HE WAS THE KIND OF PERSON THAT THOUGHT OUT OF THE BOX. AND HE RECOGNIZED THAT THAT WAS THIS SPACEPORT WAS SOMETHING THAT COULD REALLY BRING ECONOMIC BENEFITS TO THE STATE. SO THAT REALLY SPURRED RICHARDSON TO BRING THE COMMERCIAL SPACEPORT TO NEW MEXICO. DR. BILL GUTMAN WAS THE DIRECTOR OF AEROSPACE OPERATIONS AT SPACEPORT AMERICA. HE SAYS A RECENT REPORT SHOWS THE SPACEPORT HAD MADE $138 MILLION ECONOMIC BENEFIT TO THE STATE. YOU CAN’T HAVE THE SPACEPORT WITHOUT SPENDING SOME MONEY AND YOU CAN’T SPEND, SPEND THE MONEY WITHOUT HAVING SOME POLITICAL SUPPORT. NOW THERE’S NO QUESTION IT WOULDN’T EXIST. I DON’T THINK, IF HE HAD NOT BEEN WILLING TO STEP UP TO THE PLATE AND TAKE A LOT OF HEAT OVER IT TO TO GET IT TO HAPPEN. THAT VISION ATTAINED THIS YEAR WHEN VIRGIN GALACTIC ANNOUNCED MONTHLY COMMERCIAL SPACE FLIGHTS. THESE TWO PROJECTS WILL PROBABLY BE THE PROJECTS THAT MOST PEOPLE WILL REMEMBER THE FORMER GOVERNOR AS BEING HIS LEGACY TO NEW MEXICO AND HIS GIFT TO ALL OF US AS CITIZENS OF THIS STATE. AND INTO THE FUTURE, ROYALE SAYS. THE GOVERNOR’S PROJECTS WERE INVESTMENTS IN NEW MEXICO, PUTTING THE STATE IN A NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT. REPORTING IN ALBUQUERQUE, ALYSSA MUNOZ, KOAT ACTION SEVEN NEWS. DURING HIS TIME IN OFFICE, RICHARDSON IS REMEMBERED FOR HIS ECONOMIC PROGRESS IN THE TV AND FILM INDUSTRY AND HIS MAJOR INVESTMENTS IN PUBLIC EDUCATION, AMONG MANY OTHERS. LAS CRUCES MAYOR KEN MIYAGISHIMA TELLS US HE WAS GOOD FRIENDS WITH RICHARDSON FOR MORE THAN 20 YEARS. IT’S A HUGE LOSS FOR OUR STATE, FOR OUR NATION, FOR THE WORLD. I MEAN, HERE’S A GENTLEMAN THAT DID HIS BEST TO RIGHT A WRONG LOOK AND SEE IF THEY COULD HELP PEOPLE WHO ARE BEING HELD AGAINST THEIR WILL TO BE ABLE TO BRING THEM HOME. HE HELPED ME ONCE WITH A LADY FROM ALBUQUERQUE WHO HAD A COUPLE CHILDREN IN IN MEXICO, IN CANCUN. AND HE WAS INSTRUMENTAL IN MAKING SURE THAT HAPPENED AND WHERE THEY WERE ABLE TO GET THE TWO CHILDREN OUT. AND OFTEN OFTEN AWAY THEY WENT. SO, I MEAN, THAT’S JUST THAT’S JUST WHO HE IS. WITH SO MANY HEARTFELT STATEMENTS OF SUPPORT COMING IN THE RICHARDSON CENTER FOR GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT WROTE THIS FROM MICKEY BERGMAN, THE GOVERNOR LIVED HIS ENTIRE LIFE IN THE SERVICE OF OTHERS, INCLUDING BOTH HIS TIME IN GOVERNMENT AND HIS SUBSEQUENT CAREER, HELPING TO FREE PEOPLE HELD HOSTAGE OR WRONGFULLY DETAINED ABROAD. THERE WAS NO PERSON THAT GOVERNOR RICHARDSON WOULD NOT SPEAK WITH IF IT HELD THE PROMISE OF RETURNING A PERSON TO FREEDOM. THE WORLD HAS LOST A CHAMPION FOR THOSE HELD UNJUSTLY ABROAD, AND I HAVE LOST A MENTOR AND DEAR FRIEND. MANY HERE IN NEW MEXICO REMEMBER BILL RICHARDSON AS A TWO TERM GOVERNOR AND A CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATE. BUT REPORTER JULIAN PALLOTTA SAYS AFTER HE LEFT POLITICS, HE CONTINUED HIS WORK AS A DIPLOMAT ON THE INTERNATIONAL LEVEL. THAT’S RIGHT. DOUG SHELLEY SOME REMEMBERING RICHARDSON AS A DIPLOMAT, DESCRIBING HIM AS A TITAN. KOAT POLITICAL EXPERT TOLD ME RICHARDSON MOLDED A LEGACY LIKE NO OTHER. FROM UNITED NATIONS AMBASSADOR TO SECRETARY OF ENERGY BILL RICHARDSON BUILT A REPUTATION AS A SKILLED DIPLOMAT. BRIAN SANDEROFF SAYS RICHARDSON’S TIME IN WASHINGTON PREPARED HIM FOR THE INTERNATIONAL STAGE. THAT THEN GAVE BILL RICHARDSON AN A VERY UNIQUE SET OF EXPERIENCES TO ALLOW HIM TO DO OTHER DIPLOMATIC EFFORTS ONCE HE LEFT GOVERNMENT SERVICE. SANDRA ROGOFF KNEW RICHARDSON SINCE THE FORMER GOVERNOR MOVED TO NEW MEXICO IN 1978. HE SAYS ONE OF RICHARDSON’S BEST QUALITIES WAS AS A SOCIAL HUMAN BEING. BILL RICHARDSON WAS A PEOPLE PERSON. HE REALLY CARED ABOUT HELPING FAMILIES WHOSE RELATIVES HAD BEEN INCARCERATED. OFTENTIMES UNJUSTLY. AS A DIPLOMAT AND SPECIAL ENVOY, HE FACED OFF WITH SOME OF THE WORLD’S TOUGHEST DICTATORS. MORE TIMES THAN NOT, SANDEROFF SAYS RICHARDSON KNEW HOW TO TALK THEIR LANGUAGE AND LEVEL WITH THEM TO RESCUE AMERICANS TRAPPED OVERSEAS. MORE THAN ONCE, I SAW BILL PULL OUT THE BOTTLE OF BRANDY AND THE FANCY CIGARS AND SIT DOWN WITH LEADERS OF THE STATE AND NATION AND REALLY GET ACROSS HIS MESSAGES AND OFTENTIMES BE EFFECTIVE WITH RICHARDSON’S PASSING, SANDEROFF DOESN’T KNOW WHO CAN FILL IN THOSE SHOES. HE SAYS HIS LEGACY SPEAKS FOR ITSELF, AND IT COMES DOWN TO THE CONVERSATIONS HE HAD ON A GLOBAL SCALE, ALWAYS ON THE PHONE WITH PEOPLE, ALWAYS MAKING CONTACTS, ALWAYS TRYING TO HELP PEOPLE. I THINK THAT’S WHAT HE’LL BE KNOWN FOR. SEVERAL NOMINATIONS FOR THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE FOR HIS EFFORTS IN RESCUING AMERICANS OVERSEAS. THE MOST RECENT NOD, JUST DAYS BEFORE HIS DEATH. LIVE IN THE STUDIO, JILLIAN PADDOCK, KOAT ACTION SEVEN NEWS, THAT MOST RECENT COMING FROM SENATOR BEN RAY LUJAN. THE SENATOR TALKED WITH US ABOUT THE NOMINATION ON MONDAY. GOVERNOR RICHARDSON HAS BEEN WORKING FROM A HUMANITARIAN PERSPECTIVE TO HELP FAMILIES. HE SEES THEM, HE HEARS THEM, AND HE UNDERSTANDS HOW TO NAVIGATE A VERY CHALLENGING ENVIRONMENT TO GO IN AND TO FREE HOSTAGES. I THINK THAT IT IS SOMETHING THAT WE SHOULD ALL RECOGNIZE AS AND IT IS SOMETHING THAT THE NOBEL PRIZE SHOULD RECOGNIZE IN THAT HERE IN NEW MEXICO AND IN AMERICA, WE HAVE AN INDIVIDUAL WHO’S COMMITTED HIMSELF TO HELP FAMILIES, FAMILIES THAT NEED HELP THE MOST IN MAKING SURE THAT HE’S ABLE TO WORK IN THOSE AREAS AND GET THEM FREE. I THINK THAT THAT IS SOMETHING THAT MUST BE ACKNOWLEDGED. SENATOR BEN RAY LUJAN AND MARTIN HEINRICH WERE PART OF THE NOMINATING GROUP. PRESIDENT BIDEN EXPRESSING HIS CONDOLENCES AND REMEMBERING THE LEGACY OF BILL RICHARDSON. FEW HAVE SERVED OUR NATION IN AS MANY CAPACITIES OR WITH AS MUCH RELENTLESSNESS, CREATIVITY AND GOOD CHEER. HE WILL BE DEEPLY MISSED. IN THE 1970S, WHEN BILL RICHARDSON WAS LOOKING FOR A PLACE TO RUN FOR POLITICAL OFFICE, ONE OF HIS STOPS WAS IN NEW MEXICO AND THE MAN HE MET WITH WAS ED ROMERO, WHO AT THE TIME WAS THE BERNALILLO COUNTY DEMOCRATIC CHAIRMAN. THEY MAINTAINED A PROFESSIONAL AND PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP OVER THE YEARS AND ED KNEW EARLY ON BILL WAS SPECIAL. SO HE COMES IN VERY GREGARIOUS. YOU KNOW, HE HAS HE COULD CAPTURE YOU WITH THAT SMILE OF HIS IN THE LATE 90S. THEY WERE BOTH AMBASSADORS AT THE UNITED NATIONS. ED SAYS HE SPOKE TO RICHARDSON ABOUT SIX MONTHS AGO. THE LAST TIME THESE LONGTIME FRIENDS SAID HELLO. BUT NOW SAYING GOODBYE. WELL, AS WE GO TO BREAK, HERE’S A LOOK AT SOME OF THE STATEMENTS WE’RE REMEMBERING. OUR FORMER GOVERNOR.
Former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson dies
Updated: 10:31 AM MDT Sep 3, 2023
Former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson has died. He was 75-years-old.The Richardson Center for Global Engagement says he died in his sleep at his summer home in Chatham, MA. “Governor Richardson passed away peacefully in his sleep last night. He lived his entire life in the service of others – including both his time in government and his subsequent career helping to free people held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad. There was no person that Governor Richardson would not speak with if it held the promise of returning a person to freedom. The world has lost a champion for those held unjustly abroad and I have lost a mentor and a dear friend,” said Mickey Bergman, Vice President of the Richardson Center. Richardson leaves behind his wife Barbara and one daughter. Political careerBill Richardson was born in Pasadena, CA and grew up in Mexico City before going to boarding school and Tufts University in Massachusetts, where he owned a summer home. Richardson was a mainstay in New Mexico politics since the 1980s. He was the first representative elected to New Mexico’s 3rd Congressional District when it was established in 1983. He served as the congressman until 1997.In 1997, Richardson was appointed as Ambassador to the United Nations serving through 1998. He was later appointed as United States Secretary of Energy by then-President Bill Clinton. He held that office until 2001. Richardson returned to New Mexico and was elected Governor in the 2002 gubernatorial election. Richardson served two terms in office as the state’s top elected leader. In 20o7, then-Governor Bill Richardson announced a run for president. He would drop out of the presidential race in Jan. 2008. In Dec. 2008 then-president-elect Barack Obama named Richardson as his choice for U.S. Secretary of Commerce. He later withdrew citing a federal investigation. Richardson each time remained governor of New Mexico through the end of his second term. Richardson held no other political office in the state after serving as New Mexico’s Governor, but many of the initiatives he launched are still highly visible, most notably his efforts to bring the movie and television industry to New Mexico. He also started the Rail Runner train service between Santa Fe and Albuquerque, and worked with Virgin Galactic to build a spaceport where commercial sub-orbital flights recently began. Prisoner release and peace negotiatorVideo above: The international diplomacy of Bill RichardsonOver three decades, Richardson compiled an unmatched resume of political and governmental service, while also being a champion of human rights. The Richardson Center for Global Engagement negotiated the release of political prisoners in North Korea, Cuba, Iraq and the Sudan. Richardson was at the forefront of negotiations to release Otto Warmbier by meeting with North Korean diplomats on March 15, 2016. He helped to secure the release of Marine Sgt. Andrew Tahmoores from prison in Tijuana, Mexico. He also played role in the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner and bringing her home from Russia.His diplomatic trouble-shooting around the world earned him four nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize. He served as a Special Envoy to the Organization of American States and as a Special fellow on Latin America at the James A Baker III Institute for Public Policy at Rice University. His work made him a frequent guest on national news programs, and he was on the board of numerous nonprofit organizations including the World Resources Institute, Refugees International and the National Council for Science and the Environment.Richardson published “How to Sweet-Talk a Shark: Strategies and Stories from a Master Negotiator” in 2013.Richardson also teamed up with actor and conservationist Robert Redford to start the Foundation to Preserve New Mexico Wildlife, which has focused on protecting wild horses and promoting alternatives to horse slaughter. Before being elected Governor, Richardson was already involved with promoting global human rights as Chairman of Freedom House , a private nonprofit, and as a member of the board of the National Resource Defense Council and United Way International.The University of New Mexico Hospital’s Bill and Barbara Richardson Pavilion opened in 2007. The six-story addition houses the emergency department, intensive care units, pediatric operating rooms, birthing suites, and children’s inpatient wards.Richardson was recognized as one of the country’s most accomplished Hispanic people as recipient of the National Hispanic Hero Award by the U.S. Hispanic Leadership Institute in 2022.
Former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson has died. He was 75-years-old.
The Richardson Center for Global Engagement says he died in his sleep at his summer home in Chatham, MA.
“Governor Richardson passed away peacefully in his sleep last night. He lived his entire life in the service of others – including both his time in government and his subsequent career helping to free people held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad. There was no person that Governor Richardson would not speak with if it held the promise of returning a person to freedom. The world has lost a champion for those held unjustly abroad and I have lost a mentor and a dear friend,” said Mickey Bergman, Vice President of the Richardson Center.
Richardson leaves behind his wife Barbara and one daughter.
Political career
Bill Richardson was born in Pasadena, CA and grew up in Mexico City before going to boarding school and Tufts University in Massachusetts, where he owned a summer home.
Richardson was a mainstay in New Mexico politics since the 1980s. He was the first representative elected to New Mexico’s 3rd Congressional District when it was established in 1983. He served as the congressman until 1997.
In 1997, Richardson was appointed as Ambassador to the United Nations serving through 1998. He was later appointed as United States Secretary of Energy by then-President Bill Clinton. He held that office until 2001.
Richardson returned to New Mexico and was elected Governor in the 2002 gubernatorial election. Richardson served two terms in office as the state’s top elected leader.
In 20o7, then-Governor Bill Richardson announced a run for president. He would drop out of the presidential race in Jan. 2008.
In Dec. 2008 then-president-elect Barack Obama named Richardson as his choice for U.S. Secretary of Commerce. He later withdrew citing a federal investigation.
Richardson each time remained governor of New Mexico through the end of his second term.
Richardson held no other political office in the state after serving as New Mexico’s Governor, but many of the initiatives he launched are still highly visible, most notably his efforts to bring the movie and television industry to New Mexico.
He also started the Rail Runner train service between Santa Fe and Albuquerque, and worked with Virgin Galactic to build a spaceport where commercial sub-orbital flights recently began.
Prisoner release and peace negotiator
Video above: The international diplomacy of Bill Richardson
Over three decades, Richardson compiled an unmatched resume of political and governmental service, while also being a champion of human rights. The Richardson Center for Global Engagement negotiated the release of political prisoners in North Korea, Cuba, Iraq and the Sudan.
Richardson was at the forefront of negotiations to release Otto Warmbier by meeting with North Korean diplomats on March 15, 2016. He helped to secure the release of Marine Sgt. Andrew Tahmoores from prison in Tijuana, Mexico. He also played role in the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner and bringing her home from Russia.
His diplomatic trouble-shooting around the world earned him four nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize. He served as a Special Envoy to the Organization of American States and as a Special fellow on Latin America at the James A Baker III Institute for Public Policy at Rice University. His work made him a frequent guest on national news programs, and he was on the board of numerous nonprofit organizations including the World Resources Institute, Refugees International and the National Council for Science and the Environment.
Richardson published “How to Sweet-Talk a Shark: Strategies and Stories from a Master Negotiator” in 2013.
Richardson also teamed up with actor and conservationist Robert Redford to start the Foundation to Preserve New Mexico Wildlife, which has focused on protecting wild horses and promoting alternatives to horse slaughter.
Before being elected Governor, Richardson was already involved with promoting global human rights as Chairman of Freedom House , a private nonprofit, and as a member of the board of the National Resource Defense Council and United Way International.
The University of New Mexico Hospital’s Bill and Barbara Richardson Pavilion opened in 2007. The six-story addition houses the emergency department, intensive care units, pediatric operating rooms, birthing suites, and children’s inpatient wards.
Richardson was recognized as one of the country’s most accomplished Hispanic people as recipient of the National Hispanic Hero Award by the U.S. Hispanic Leadership Institute in 2022.
