US Secretary of State Eagleburger Dies

Word of his death came from representatives of former President George H.W. Bush and former Secretary of State James Baker. No other details were immediately available.

The White House has issued a statement calling Eagleburger "a distinguished diplomat and public servant" and noted that, he served the nation during the "pivotal days" at the end of the Cold War, after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton noted that Eagleburger had served in the U.S. Army before joining the foreign service. She called him "a strong voice and stalwart champion for America's values." Eagleburger last month appeared at a State Department event with Secretary Clinton and former Secretary Madeleine Albright.

Eagleburger was the only career foreign service officer to rise to the position of Secretary of State.

He served in the position under the first President Bush for five months in 1992 when his predecessor, James Baker, stepped down from the post to run Mr. Bush's unsuccessful re-election campaign.

George H.W. Bush was U.S. president from 1989 to 1993. He is the father of President George W. Bush, who served from 2001 to 2009.