Antony Blinken

Antony Blinken
Official portrait, 2021
71st United States Secretary of State
Assumed office
January 26, 2021
PresidentJoe Biden
Deputy
Preceded byMike Pompeo
18th United States Deputy Secretary of State
In office
January 9, 2015 – January 20, 2017
PresidentBarack Obama
Preceded byWilliam J. Burns
Succeeded byJohn Sullivan
26th United States Deputy National Security Advisor
In office
January 20, 2013 – January 9, 2015
PresidentBarack Obama
LeaderSusan Rice
Preceded byDenis McDonough
Succeeded byAvril Haines
National Security Advisor to the Vice President of the United States
In office
January 20, 2009 – January 20, 2013
Vice PresidentJoe Biden
Preceded byJohn P. Hannah
Succeeded byJake Sullivan
Personal details
Born
Antony John Blinken

(1962-04-16) April 16, 1962 (age 62)
Yonkers, New York, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
(m. 2002)
Children2
Parent
Relatives
Education

Antony John Blinken (born April 16, 1962) is an American lawyer and diplomat currently serving as the 71st United States secretary of state. He previously served as deputy national security advisor from 2013 to 2015 and deputy secretary of state from 2015 to 2017 under President Barack Obama.[1] Blinken was previously national security advisor to then–Vice President Joe Biden from 2009 to 2013.

During the Clinton administration, Blinken served in the State Department and in senior positions on the National Security Council from 1994 to 2001. He was a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies from 2001 to 2002. He advocated for the 2003 invasion of Iraq while serving as the Democratic staff director of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 2002 to 2008.[2] He was a foreign policy advisor for Joe Biden's 2008 presidential campaign, before advising the Obama–Biden presidential transition.

From 2009 to 2013, Blinken served as deputy assistant to the president and national security advisor to the vice president. During his tenure in the Obama administration, he helped craft U.S. policy on Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the nuclear program of Iran.[3][4] After leaving government service, Blinken moved into the private sector, co-founding WestExec Advisors, a consulting firm. Blinken returned to government first as a foreign policy advisor for Biden's 2020 presidential campaign, then as Biden's pick for secretary of state, a position the Senate confirmed him for on January 26, 2021.

  1. ^ "Senate confirms Antony Blinken as 71st Secretary of State". AP NEWS. January 26, 2021. Archived from the original on January 26, 2021. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
  2. ^ Glueck, Katie; Kaplan, Thomas (January 12, 2020). "Joe Biden's Vote for War". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 18, 2020. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  3. ^ "Senate Confirms Antony "Tony" Blinken '88 as Secretary of State". Columbia Law School. December 17, 2014. Archived from the original on September 19, 2020. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  4. ^ Sanger, David E. (November 7, 2014). "Obama Makes His Choice for No. 2 Post at State Department". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 20, 2015. Retrieved February 3, 2015.