Democratic U.S. presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama smiles with New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson at the Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Ore. on Friday, March 21, 2008. (AP /Alex Brandon)

Bill Richardson, a former governor and UN ambassador, dies

WASHINGTON –


Bill Richardson, a two-term Democratic governor of New Mexico who later was the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and dedicated his post-political career to working to free Americans detained overseas, has died.


He was 75.


The Richardson Center for Global Engagement, which he founded, said in a statement Saturday that he died in his sleep at his home in Chatham, Massachusetts.