Bill Richardson, a secretary of energy during the Bill Clinton administration who at various points of his career was a Democratic congressman and New Mexico governor, and became something of a specialist in international hostage negotiation, died Sept. 1 at age 75, according to major media accounts.
Richardson was first elected to Congress in 1982 and represented New Mexico’s third district for 14 years. He would later be elected New Mexico’s governor, serving two terms, from 2003 through 2011. Richardson also made an unsuccessful run for his party’s presidential nomination in 2008, according to his official biography.
Richardson led the Department of Energy between 1998 and 2000, a period during which Wen Ho Lee, a computer scientist at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, was investigated for allegedly spying for China and eventually pleaded guilty to one felony count of mishandling secret information. Lee was never convicted of espionage, according to the New York Times.
Richardson was criticized at the time for his handling of the affair. Richardson also later withdrew as President Barack Obama’s nominee for secretary of commerce due to an investigation into alleged impropriety while serving as governor, but that federal probe resulted in no charges, according to National Public Radio.
Over the years, Richardson was involved in attempts to negotiate the release of American servicemen and U.S. citizens being held hostage, most recently women’s professional basketball player Brittney Griner.
President Joe Biden noted Richardson’s passing in a statement. “Bill’s legacy will endure in many places – in New Mexico, which Bill served for seven terms as congressman and two as governor; at the Department of Energy, where he helped strengthen America’s nuclear security; and at the United Nations, where he put his considerable negotiating skills to work advocating for American interests and values on the world stage.”
There have been 16 secretaries of energy counting the current one, Jennifer Granholm. With the passing of Richardson, who was the ninth to hold the post, four former secretaries are now deceased. Charles Duncan Jr., who served as President Jimmy Carter’s energy secretary during the oil shortage days of 1979, died in October 2022 at age 96.
Richardson’s body will lie in state for public viewing at the New Mexico Capitol Rotunda on Wednesday, Sept. 13 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mountain Time, a New Mexico television station reported. His burial will be the following day.
