Shultz, who was one of only two Americans to have held four federal-cabinet positions all his life, is best known for leading the State Department under Reagan. He has also served as secretary of the Treasury, secretary of the Department of Labor and director of the Office of Management and Budget during the administration of President Richard Nixon.
His work in primary school administrations extended back to President Dwight D. Eisenhower, when Shultz served as a senior staff economist on the Council of Economic Advisers in the 1950s.
“Our colleague was a great American statesman and a true lover in all senses of the word. He will be remembered in history as a man who made the world a better place,” said the former Secretary of State and Director of the Hoover Condoleezza Rice Institute in a statement.
Shultz, who was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1989, had served as Distinguished Fellow of Thomas W. and Susan B. Ford at the Hoover Institute before his death, according to a statement, which he said worked at “Stanford almost every day until he passed away.”
He died at home in California. The cause of death was not given.
President Joe Biden said Shultz was a “gentleman with respect and opinions” in a statement Sunday afternoon.
“I regret that, as president, I will not be able to benefit from his wisdom, as so many of my ancestors did,” said Biden.
“And, while he and I sometimes argued about the other aspects of issues when I was a young grandfather, I was proud to find common ground on issues that were critical to the security and prosperity of the American people,” said the President.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken described Shultz as “mythical” and “visionary” in a statement commemorating Sunday, noting that he was “urging him to take a serious action on the current crisis.” at a time when too few leaders have taken that position. ”
“Every Secretary of State who has succeeded George Shultz has been scrutinized – his work, his judgment, his intellect. I know I am on,” Blinken said.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom remembered Shultz as an “amazing statesman, public servant and friend” who “shaped American foreign policy and worked for change at home as well.”
“Our state is fortunate that Secretary Shultz went west later in office, devoting his wisdom and vision to advising Governor (Arnold) Schwarzenegger, positions at the Hoover Institute and more,” he said. Newsom in a statement.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a longtime friend of Shultz, said in a statement on Sunday that the world has lost an honorable statesman and a brilliant public servant. “The late secretary, she said, had ‘put his life on hold to promote a more peaceful and secure future.”
The department said it had “positive responses to the refugees of Gorbachev and his foreign minister, Eduard Shevardnadze, and through his own initiatives, Shultz helped draft and sign marked arms control treaties and other agreements. which helped reduce US-Soviet antagonism. ”
During his time as secretary, Shultz was particularly concerned about the global threat posed by nuclear weapons, according to the Hoover Institute, which said the diplomat told Stanford students “in the age of nuclear weapons, not work It’s easy to carry security together. ”
“We must both protect freedom and maintain peace. We must seek to advance those moral values to which this country and its allies are committed. And we must do so in a nuclear time in which the global war would destroy these values completely. , “he said.
Shultz also accepted challenges in the Middle East, after breaking an agreement between Israel and Lebanon in which Israel agreed to begin withdrawing troops, according to a State Department biography, which noted that the late diplomat, however, was “able to create a lasting resolution” to the Middle East conflict. ”
“We do not support the current primary election,” he wrote in a joint statement. “We are committed to cultivating bipartisan foreign policy and will commit ourselves to this effort now and after the election. “
“This is as close as big business gets to a consensus position,” the op-ed read, arguing “our companies are best served by a stable and predictable international framework that commits each country to mitigating climate change. ”
This story has been updated with additional details.