The quintessential diplomat

Cool and collected: The quietly dignified Kadir had always thrived the most being a backroom operator, says the columnist. — 2015 Filepic/The Star

A STRATEGIST, tough nut, mentor and good boss. He was a man of few words.

Those are some of the descriptions of Tan Sri Kadir Mohamad shared by his former colleagues in the Foreign Ministry. Kadir, who rose up the ranks to become Wisma Putra’s secretary-general, passed away on Monday. He was 81.