(Refile to correct date in dateline to Dec 13)
WASHINGTON, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Richard Holbrooke, who was President Barack Obama's special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, died on Monday, CNN reported citing a senior U.S. official. He was 69.
The veteran U.S. diplomat, who brokered the 1995 accord ending the Balkans war, had been a key player in Obama's efforts to turn around the faltering 9-year-old war in Afghanistan.
Holbrooke, who also served as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and to Germany and twice was assistant secretary of state, died after surgery on Saturday to repair a tear in his aorta. He fell ill at the State Department on Friday.
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