Richard Krieger has resigned as executive director of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council, a post he has held since May 1986.
Krieger told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency Wednesday that he had accepted his post to work with Elie Wiesel, then the Council’s chairman, and when Wiesel resigned as chairman in December he said, “I decided to leave.”
He said he held up his resignation until February 6 when President Reagan appointed a new chairman, Harvey Meyerhoff, a Baltimore developer and philanthropist.
A former executive director of the Jewish Federation of North Jersey, Krieger came to Washington in 1980 as the Jewish liaison with the Republican National Committee. He then served in the State Department as associate U.S. coordinator for refugee affairs.
In his letter of resignation to Reagan, Krieger noted that “Your dedication to remembering the lessons of the Holocaust is a cornerstone of this Administration.
“You have demonstrated an overwhelming compassion and a willingness to take political risks on behalf of the United States to bring human beings to safety and freedom when you wholeheartedly supported and permitted my initiatives to rescue Ethiopian Jewry.” He added for “that alone” Reagan will be “recorded in the annals of history.”
Krieger, who now plans to do international consulting, also expressed satisfaction with the progress of the Council which is planning and raising funds for a Holocaust Museum to be built here. Reagan is expected to name a successor to Krieger soon.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
