Once again it is time to reflect on the infamous exploits of Edward von Kloberg III -- the cape wearing Washington based aide-de-camp to the damned.
Edward von Kloberg III, Lobbyist for Many Dictators, Dies at 63
Edward von Kloberg III, a flamboyant lobbyist here who maintained a high-profile client roster that could easily be found in his Rolodex under "d," for dictator, died on Sunday in Rome. He was 63.
Mr. von Kloberg, whose death was classified a suicide, apparently leapt from the parapet of a castle, the State Department said on Tuesday. He left behind a note, the contents of which were not disclosed.
In a town where public relations is nearly a fourth branch of government, Mr. von Kloberg eagerly took on some of the toughest cases: tyrants, dictators and mass murderers whom others refused even to meet. Among them were Saddam Hussein, Nicolae Ceaucescu of Romania, Samuel K. Doe of Liberia and Mobuto Sese Seko of the former Zaire. He once called these and other clients "the damned."
Mr. von Kloberg liked to call himself the lobbyist for "the impossible," rather than the reprehensible, and he proudly noted that he turned away only one potential client as irredeemable.
"I did refuse to represent one dictator, Gen. Mohammed Farah Aidid, the Somalian warlord," Mr. von Kloberg told The Washington Times in 2003. Explaining the choices he made in his life, he liked to say: "Shame is for sissies."
Nevertheless, Mr. von Kloberg also represented less controversial governments and business interests. He was known to be well informed on the substance of foreign policy and was often up to date on the intrigue at foreign embassies and the State Department, in both Democratic and Republican administrations. A frequent host of salon-style dinners, he relished mixing political figures with Washington reporters.
Mr. von Kloberg lived in Washington. Among his survivors are his companion, Darius Monkevicius of Rome, and a sister, Carol van Kloberg of Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
Edward Joseph Kloberg III was born in New York on Jan. 9, 1942. He attended Princeton University and graduated from Rider College in 1965. He had a master's degree in history from American University, which later hired him to be a fund-raiser and then an administrator until 1982, when he entered public relations.
His firm became the public relations outfit of choice for many leaders who were on their way to becoming outlaws. Mr. von Kloberg (he grafted the "von" onto his name because he thought it sounded distinguished) ran an organization called Washington World Group and earned large fees from the assorted potentates and pariahs he represented, allowing him to live extravagantly (he often wore a black cape to formal occasions), with frequent lavish parties and travel, for which he packed one or more steamer trucks.
One of his favorite lobbying strategies was letters to the editors of newspapers - especially his apparent favorite, The Washington Times - defending his clients when front-page news articles questioned their actions.
For example, after reports that Pakistan had purchased missiles from North Korea in 2003, Mr. Von Kloberg dispatched a letter to The Washington Times in which he said "our so-called ally, Pakistan" - an ally of the Bush administration in its fight against terrorism - "systematically deceived and lied to the United States by engaging in clandestine nuclear exchanges with North Korea."
Pakistan had actually been his client years earlier. In 1994, Ali Sawar Naqvi, a senior diplomat in the Pakistani embassy, wrote Mr. von Kloberg to thank him for his "warm affection and ready assistance," the newspaper India-West reported in 2004.
It came out later that he had acquired a new client: India, Pakistan's bitter rival. This was not the first time he had switched allegiances. After representing Mr. Mobuto of Zaire, he took as a client the man who replaced him, Laurent Kabila.
"Some may wonder why Mr. Kabila, who had waged war to topple Mr. Mobuto two years ago, would now turn to us for representation," Mr. von Kloberg wrote in 1999. He did not answer the question directly but did note that he would not try to "justify or hide" the human rights and other abuses of his clients.
"Instead," he added, "we attempt to balance and even change the situation by offering realistic advice to our clients and facts that are often ignored by the press."
Later, he appeared to be courting Kim Jong Il, the North Korean leader, when he wrote another letter in 2001 praising North Korea's efforts to "reunite with the South" and "recognizing North Korea's rightful seat among the community of nations."
There is no evidence that Mr. von Kloberg ever recruited Kim Jong Il. He once acknowledged that he had also failed in his efforts to recruit another outcast.
"I've had every great dictator in the world except for Stroessner," he lamented in 2003. Gen. Alfredo Stroessner was the corrupt and ruthless ruler of Paraguay from 1954 to 1989.
For all his flamboyance, Mr. von Kloberg did show flashes of modesty. In 2003, when HBO began the show "K Street" on the world of Washington lobbyists, Mr. von Kloberg remarked, "I can't imagine that the rank and file of American life will be that interested."
New York Times May 4, 2005 by Joel Brinkley
Edward von Kloberg III, Lobbyist for Many Dictators, Dies at 63
Edward von Kloberg III, a flamboyant lobbyist here who maintained a high-profile client roster that could easily be found in his Rolodex under "d," for dictator, died on Sunday in Rome. He was 63.
Mr. von Kloberg, whose death was classified a suicide, apparently leapt from the parapet of a castle, the State Department said on Tuesday. He left behind a note, the contents of which were not disclosed.
In a town where public relations is nearly a fourth branch of government, Mr. von Kloberg eagerly took on some of the toughest cases: tyrants, dictators and mass murderers whom others refused even to meet. Among them were Saddam Hussein, Nicolae Ceaucescu of Romania, Samuel K. Doe of Liberia and Mobuto Sese Seko of the former Zaire. He once called these and other clients "the damned."
Mr. von Kloberg liked to call himself the lobbyist for "the impossible," rather than the reprehensible, and he proudly noted that he turned away only one potential client as irredeemable.
"I did refuse to represent one dictator, Gen. Mohammed Farah Aidid, the Somalian warlord," Mr. von Kloberg told The Washington Times in 2003. Explaining the choices he made in his life, he liked to say: "Shame is for sissies."
Nevertheless, Mr. von Kloberg also represented less controversial governments and business interests. He was known to be well informed on the substance of foreign policy and was often up to date on the intrigue at foreign embassies and the State Department, in both Democratic and Republican administrations. A frequent host of salon-style dinners, he relished mixing political figures with Washington reporters.
Mr. von Kloberg lived in Washington. Among his survivors are his companion, Darius Monkevicius of Rome, and a sister, Carol van Kloberg of Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
Edward Joseph Kloberg III was born in New York on Jan. 9, 1942. He attended Princeton University and graduated from Rider College in 1965. He had a master's degree in history from American University, which later hired him to be a fund-raiser and then an administrator until 1982, when he entered public relations.
His firm became the public relations outfit of choice for many leaders who were on their way to becoming outlaws. Mr. von Kloberg (he grafted the "von" onto his name because he thought it sounded distinguished) ran an organization called Washington World Group and earned large fees from the assorted potentates and pariahs he represented, allowing him to live extravagantly (he often wore a black cape to formal occasions), with frequent lavish parties and travel, for which he packed one or more steamer trucks.
One of his favorite lobbying strategies was letters to the editors of newspapers - especially his apparent favorite, The Washington Times - defending his clients when front-page news articles questioned their actions.
For example, after reports that Pakistan had purchased missiles from North Korea in 2003, Mr. Von Kloberg dispatched a letter to The Washington Times in which he said "our so-called ally, Pakistan" - an ally of the Bush administration in its fight against terrorism - "systematically deceived and lied to the United States by engaging in clandestine nuclear exchanges with North Korea."
Pakistan had actually been his client years earlier. In 1994, Ali Sawar Naqvi, a senior diplomat in the Pakistani embassy, wrote Mr. von Kloberg to thank him for his "warm affection and ready assistance," the newspaper India-West reported in 2004.
It came out later that he had acquired a new client: India, Pakistan's bitter rival. This was not the first time he had switched allegiances. After representing Mr. Mobuto of Zaire, he took as a client the man who replaced him, Laurent Kabila.
"Some may wonder why Mr. Kabila, who had waged war to topple Mr. Mobuto two years ago, would now turn to us for representation," Mr. von Kloberg wrote in 1999. He did not answer the question directly but did note that he would not try to "justify or hide" the human rights and other abuses of his clients.
"Instead," he added, "we attempt to balance and even change the situation by offering realistic advice to our clients and facts that are often ignored by the press."
Later, he appeared to be courting Kim Jong Il, the North Korean leader, when he wrote another letter in 2001 praising North Korea's efforts to "reunite with the South" and "recognizing North Korea's rightful seat among the community of nations."
There is no evidence that Mr. von Kloberg ever recruited Kim Jong Il. He once acknowledged that he had also failed in his efforts to recruit another outcast.
"I've had every great dictator in the world except for Stroessner," he lamented in 2003. Gen. Alfredo Stroessner was the corrupt and ruthless ruler of Paraguay from 1954 to 1989.
For all his flamboyance, Mr. von Kloberg did show flashes of modesty. In 2003, when HBO began the show "K Street" on the world of Washington lobbyists, Mr. von Kloberg remarked, "I can't imagine that the rank and file of American life will be that interested."
New York Times May 4, 2005 by Joel Brinkley
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