Ex-U.S. Ambassador, Walter Carrington, is dead

A former United States ambassador to Nigeria, Walter Carrington, is dead.

A family statement signed by his Nigerian wife, Arese Carrington, said Mr Carrington died on Tuesday. She did not state the cause of his death.

“It is with a heavy and broken heart but with gratitude to God for his life of selfless humanity that I announce the passing of my beloved husband Walter Carrington, former U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria and Senegal.

“He passed away peacefully, surrounded by loved ones at the age of 90 years old on Tuesday, August 11th, 2020. Further announcements will be made shortly,” the statement read.

Mrs Carrington described the late diplomat as a loving husband, father, grandfather, cousin, uncle, friend and in-law.

“Ralph Waldo Emerson said…It is not the length of life but the depth of life.

“Walter was fortunate, his life had both length and depth,” she said in the statement.

About the late diplomat

Mr Carrington, who celebrated his 90th birthday a fortnight ago, served as the United States Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Senegal and Nigeria.

He served as the U.S. Ambassador to Senegal from 1980 to 1981 and was later appointed by former U.S. President, Bill Clinton, in 1993 as the ambassador to Nigeria, where he remained until 1997.

The diplomat has deep ties with Nigeria. He married into a Nigerian family and had lived in three Nigerian cities since the late 1960s.