The top aide to the head of the UN peacekeeping mission to Haiti, a native Chicagoan was confirmed as one of the hundreds of thousands of dead in that poor Caribbean country after an earthquake destroyed it.
Andrew Grene, 44, was born in Chicago, attended New Trier High School and went to college at University of Chicago and Northwestern University, the Chicago Tribune reports.
Grene worked as a speechwriter for then-UN Secretary General Boutros Boutros Ghali, before transitioning to a peacekeeping role.
"Andrew is part of a long and honourable Irish tradition of public service with the United Nations," Ireland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Micheál Martin, TD, said in a statement. "His family, and indeed Ireland, can be very proud of his work."
His job took him all over the globe, but he had a special affinity for Haitians, his brother said.
"He believed passionately in the Haitian people," his brother told the Chicago Tribune. "He believed in their vivacity, their charm. He believed in giving every person in the world a fair shot, and he gave his life for that."
Grene, who had dual Irish and American citizenship, is survived by his wife, Jennifer, and three children, Patrick, Alex and Rosamund. He’ll be buried in Ireland. Alex and Patrick are current students at the University of Chicago.
Complete Coverage: Devastation in Haiti
