Tony Blinken

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Tony Blinken
Antony Blinken.jpg
United States Deputy Secretary of State
Assumed office
January 9, 2015
President Barack Obama
Preceded by Wendy Sherman (Acting)
Deputy National Security Advisor
In office
January 20, 2013 – January 9, 2015
President Barack Obama
Preceded by Denis McDonough
Succeeded by Avril Haines
Personal details
Born Antony John Blinken
(1962-04-16) April 16, 1962 (age 62)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Spouse(s) Evan Ryan
Alma mater Harvard University
Columbia University
Blinken, standing in blue shirt in back of room, during the Osama Bin Laden raid.

Antony John "Tony" Blinken (born April 16, 1962)[1][2][2] is the United States Deputy Secretary of State and the former Deputy National Security Advisor for President Barack Obama. He had served as a Senior Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Democratic Staff Director of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations (from 2002 to 2008), and a member of the Obama-Biden Presidential Transition team (from November 2008 to January 2009), among other positions.

From 2009 to 2013 Blinken served as Deputy Assistant to the President and National Security Advisor to the Vice President. From 2002 to 2008 he served as the Democratic Staff Director for the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee. From 2001 to 2002 Blinken was a Senior Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. During the Clinton Administration, Blinken served in the State Department and in senior positions on the National Security Council Staff.[3]

On November 7, 2014, President Obama announced that he would nominate Blinken for the Deputy Secretary post, replacing the retiring William Joseph Burns.[4] On December 16, 2014 Blinken was confirmed as Deputy Secretary of State by the Senate by a vote of 55 to 38.[5]

Early life

Blinken was born to Jewish parents, Judith and Donald Blinken. He attended Dalton School in New York City until 1971, when he moved to Paris, France, with his divorced mother and her new husband, lawyer Samuel Pisar, who had survived both the Auschwitz and Dachau camps in the Holocaust.[3]

He attended Harvard University, where he edited the daily student newspaper and co-edited the weekly art magazine. After earning his bachelor's degree, Blinken reported for The New Republic.[6] He earned his J.D. at Columbia Law School. After graduation, he practiced law in New York and Paris.[6] During the 1988 presidential campaign, Blinken became a Democratic partisan, working with his father in fundraisers for Michael Dukakis.[3]

Career

Blinken has held senior foreign policy positions in two administrations over two decades. He served on the United States National Security Council staff at the White House from 1994 to 2001.[7] From 1994 through 1998 Blinken was Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Strategic Planning and NSC Senior Director for Speechwriting.[7] From 1999 to 2001 he was Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for European and Canadian Affairs.[8]

In 2002 Blinken was appointed Staff Director for the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, a position he served in until 2008.[7] He was also a Senior Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. In 2008, Blinken worked for the presidential campaign of Senator Joseph Biden,[3] and was a member of the Obama-Biden Presidential Transition team.[7][9]

From 2009 to 2013 he served as Deputy Assistant to the President and National Security Advisor to the Vice President. In this position he also helped craft U.S. policy on Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Iranian nuclear program.[10][11]

He is the author of Ally Versus Ally: America, Europe and the Siberian Pipeline Crisis (Praeger, 1987).[3][7]

Personal life

Blinken, who is Jewish,[3] married Evan Ryan in a bi-denominational ceremony officiated by a rabbi and priest at Holy Trinity Catholic Church (Washington, D.C.).[12] Ryan works with her husband at the State Department, as Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs since 2013.

References

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External links

Political offices
Preceded by United States Deputy Secretary of State
2015–present		 Incumbent
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  5. ↑ Senate vote to confirm
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Antony Blinken, Deputy National Security Advisor, Sara Sorcher, National Journal, July 17, 2013
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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