Christopher Van Hollen

Christopher Van Hollen Sr. (September 23, 1922 – January 30, 2013) was an American diplomat who served as the United States Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives from 1972 until 1976. He was the father of U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen.

Biography

Early life Van Hollen was born in Baltimore, and was raised in the city's northern Cedarcroft neighborhood. Christopher's grandfather, George Henry Van Hollen (1865–1928), owned the Atlantic Packing Co.

Career Van Hollen joined U.S. Secretary of State Dean Acheson's executive secretariat shortly after completing his doctorate at Johns Hopkins.

Christopher Van Hollen died from Alzheimer's disease on January 30, 2013, at the Washington Home and Hospice in Washington, D.C., at the age of 90. His wife, Eliza, died in 2007. He was survived by three children, then-U.S. Rep. Chris Van Hollen Jr., Caroline Van Hollen, and Cecilia Van Hollen; two sisters, Margaret Lee of Baltimore and Cecilia Van Hollen; and five grandchildren.