WEST PALM BEACH (USA), Feb 14: Retired US Army Lt-Gen Vernon Walters, a former US ambassador to the United Nations and globe-trotting envoy for presidents since World War II, has died. He was 85.

Walters died on Sunday at Good Samaritan Medical Center in West Palm Beach, Florida.

A former deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency and an accomplished linguist, Walters spent nearly four years under President Ronald Reagan as the chief U.S. representative at the United Nations.

He was later tapped by President George H.W. Bush to head the U.S. Embassy in Bonn, a key appointment at a time when new Kremlin policies threatened to loosen ties between Washington and some of its traditional European allies.—Reuters