Former US ambassador to Germany John Kornblum dies

The former US ambassador to Germany, John Kornblum, died on Thursday. He was 80.

He died in Nashville in the Us state of Tennessee, dpa learned from a family friend on Friday. The German newspaper Tagesspiegel first reported the news.

Kornblum was US ambassador from 1997 to 2001, first in Bonn and then in Berlin.

Even after his career in the service of the US State Department, Kornblum repeatedly commented on current political issues. The trans-Atlanticist regularly appeared as an expert on German political programmes. Kornblum, whose ancestors came from East Prussia, spoke fluent German.

His diplomatic career took him to Germany several times. He started at the US consulate general in Hamburg. He later worked in the political section of the US embassy in Bonn.

During this time, he took part in the negotiations on the Four Power Agreement on Berlin, which was concluded in the early 1970s and contributed to the easing of tensions in the Cold War.

From 1979 to 1981, Kornblum worked as a political adviser at the US Mission Berlin and was later deputy commander of the US sector.

Kornblum was born in Detroit in 1943. He studied German and international relations at Michigan State University.

In 1964, he joined the foreign service of his country. He represented the United States at NATO and the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe.

After his time as a diplomat, he worked as an investment banker.

The politician and former US ambassador to Germany from 1991 to 1993, Robert Kimmitt, called Kornblum a "great American diplomat, a strong trans-Atlanticist and a staunch friend of Germany."