Edith Eliza Van Hollen, 79; State Department analyst

Edith Eliza Van Hollen, who was recognized as one of the top US government foreign policy and intelligence analysts on Afghanistan and South Asia, died of cancer Feb. 21 at George Washington University Hospital. She was 79.

Mrs. Van Hollen, a resident of Washington and a native of New York City, was the wife of a former US ambassador and the mother of a US congressman. She grew up in Concord and attended Concord Academy. She later attended Rosemary Hall School in Greenwich, Conn., and Vassar College.

After graduating from Vassar College in 1949 with a major in Russian, Edith Eliza Farnsworth worked at the Central Intelligence Agency. She left to earn a master's degree through Harvard University's Russian studies program. She received it in 1953 and married Christopher Van Hollen of Baltimore, a Foreign Service officer.

For 25 years, she served with her husband in countries around the world, including India, Pakistan, Turkey, and Sri Lanka, where he was US ambassador. At every post, she immersed herself in local history and culture and engaged in volunteer efforts. An accomplished linguist, she learned to speak French, Russian, Bengali, Hindi, Urdu, Turkish, and Sinhala.

In 1978, Mrs. Van Hollen became the chief analyst for Afghanistan in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research at the State Department. With her background in Soviet affairs and knowledge of South Asia, she became an important asset to the department when the Soviets invaded Afghanistan.

She was one of the few to predict the invasion, and she later warned of the dangers of becoming too closely tied to the Taliban and extremist Islamic groups. She wrote articles on Afghanistan and later took three official trips to Moscow for discussions on Afghanistan and other South Asian issues.

Mrs. Van Hollen also served as the senior intelligence analyst for Pakistan and India, and in 1989 she became chief of the South Asia division of the intelligence and research bureau.

In 1992, her work was recognized by the intelligence community when she received the National Medal of Achievement from the director of Central Intelligence. She also received two Superior Honor awards, two Meritorious Honor awards, and the Analyst of the Year award, among others.

She retired from the State Department in 1994, but maintained her interest in foreign affairs with the McLean Foreign Policy Group. With her husband, she became involved in son Chris Van Hollen's successful campaigns for the Maryland Senate in 1994 and the US House of Representatives in 2002.

Mrs. Van Hollen also served as one of three trustees of Big Basin Forest, an organization that owns and manages a large tract of Green Mountain forestland in Vermont.

In addition to her husband of 54 years of Washington and her son of Kensington, Md., she leaves two daughters, Caroline Van Hollen of Washington and Cecilia Van Hollen of Fayetteville, N.Y.; a brother; and five grandchildren.