The Diplomat

Biography of American diplomat Richard Holbrooke, who served the US State Department for nearly fifty years. To find out the true identity of his father, son David paints a loving portrait of a fascinating man. He moved mountains in international diplomacy, but wasn’t exactly a family man because of his unbridled ambition and commitment. 

Holbrooke started his career in his early twenties in Vietnam, where he worked as a diplomat for six years. At the age of 24 he was appointed member of a special team of Vietnam experts in the White House by US President Lyndon Johnson. He developed an impressive service record in American foreign politics as an envoy to Morocco, Indonesia, Germany, Kosovo and Afghanistan, culminating in the 1995 Dayton Accords that ended the war in former Yugoslavia. As Assistant Secretary of State, Holbrooke played a major role mediating between the warring parties.

Using archive footage and interviews with world leaders and an impressive number of leading American politicians – including the Clintons, John Kerry, Madeleine Albright, Henry Kissinger, Al Gore and Samantha Power – the film provides a special insight into the world of diplomacy, where peace is negotiated and wars are ended.