Published on: Thursday, January 31, 2013

By Brian Compere

Max M. Kampelman, a top nuclear arms diplomat and adviser through the Cold War, died at the age of 92 Friday in his home in Washington.

Kampelman is best known for negotiating landmark agreements on human rights and nuclear arms reductions, especially as Reagan’s chief arms control negotiator, a position he held from 1985 to 1989.

“I was saddened to hear about the recent passing of Ambassador Max M. Kampelman,” Vice President Joe Biden said in a White House release. “Fittingly, Max devoted his final years to passionately advancing the vision he shared with Ronald Reagan and others – that of a world without nuclear weapons.”

Kampelman received a range of awards for his service, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the nation, from former President Bill Clinton in 1999.

Survivors include three children, Jeffrey Kampelman of Chevy Chase, Julia Kampelman Stevenson of Washington and Sarah Kampelman of Hamilton, Va., and five grandchildren.