Washington (CNN) -- A bevy of political and diplomatic heavyweights came together Friday to remember Richard Holbrooke, the veteran U.S. diplomat who died last month after surgery to repair a tear in his aorta. A memorial service at the Kennedy Center was attended by President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, former President Bill Clinton, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. Pakistani President Asif Zardari also attended, along with FBI Director Robert Mueller and Joints Chiefs Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen, among others. Holbrooke led "an extraordinary life," Obama said. He "was the leading light of a generation of American diplomats who came of age in Vietnam."
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Obama praises Holbrooke's "coupling of realism and idealism"
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Albright praises his "imagination, dedication and forcefulness"
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The diplomat ruffled feathers in a career that ranged from Vietnam to Afghanistan
He noted that dealing with so many foes on both sides of the @placeholder-Pakistani border made the process difficult.