Ambassador James R. Lilley passed away in November 2009 at the age of 81. He was a former Co-Chair of the HRNK Board of Directors.

Ambassador Lilley served for decades in the diplomatic, intelligence, and policy communities. After a career as a CIA operative in Asia, he served as director of the American Institute in Taiwan, Ambassador to South Korea, and Ambassador to China. He earned a reputation as a consummate Asia hand, receiving effusive praise from Democrats and Republicans alike. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called Ambassador Lilley “one of our nation’s finest diplomats;” President George H.W. Bush remarked that Lilley was a “most knowledgeable and effective ambassador who served with great honor and distinction.”

Ambassador Lilley balanced a pragmatic, bipartisan approach with passionate advocacy for human rights. Responding to the Tiananmen Square Massacre of 1989 in China, Lilley maintained a principled but careful approach that allowed the United States to express its negative reaction to the incident without permanently debilitating US-China relations.

The 2012 Ambassador James R. Lilley and Congressman Stephen J. Solarz North Korean Human Rights Act, the most significant legislative accomplishment for the North Korean human rights community in the United States, is a testament to the spirit of bipartisan comity and pragmatic idealism that Ambassador Lilley brought to HRNK.

Ambassador Lilley’s leadership continues to set a shining example for HRNK’s future.