Facts about Antony Blinken

Antony Blinken is 62 years old
Born: April 16, 1962
Birthplace: Yonkers,
Best known as: U.S. Secretary of State, 2021-present

     

Antony Blinken Biography

Antony ‘Tony’ Blinken is the American diplomat who became the U.S. Secretary of State under President Joseph Biden in 2021.

Antony Blinken was born into a family with diplomatic traditions: His father, Donald Blinken, was America’s ambassador to Hungary from 1994-97, and his uncle, Alan Blinken, was the American ambassador to Belgium from 1993-97. Tony Blinken grew up in New York and Paris, and then graduated from Harvard University in 1984. He completed his law degree at Columbia in 1988.

Blinken practiced law in New York and France, and then moved into government under President Bill Clinton. Blinken was on the staff of the National Security Council from 1994-2001, at the same time serving as a Special Assistant to the President from 1994-98. He then was staff director of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 2002-08. During that time he worked closely with Joe Biden, who chaired the committee.

With the election of President Barack Obama, Blinken became (2009-14) Deputy Assistant to the President and National Security Advisor to Biden, who had become vice president. Obama moved him up to the post of Deputy Secretary of State in 2014. Leaving office after the election of Donald Trump in 2016, Blinken co-founded a political consulting firm called WestExec Advisors, which had a special focus on technology companies and the Department of Defense. He also became a partner in Pine Island Capital Partners, a private equity firm, and worked as an analyst for CNN.

In 2020, Blinken joined the successful presidential campaign of Joe Biden, and Biden then nominated him for the job of Secretary of State. Blinken was confirmed on a Senate vote of 78 to 22, and took office on January 26, 2021. He succeded Mike Pompeo, who was Secretary of State under President Donald Trump from 2018-21.

Extra credit

Antony Blinken married Evan Ryan in 2002. She joined the Biden Administration as White House Cabinet Secretary, the key liason between the president and his cabinet, in 2021. Blinken and Ryan have no children… Antony Blinken is the 71st U.S. Secretary of State. The very first U.S. Secretary of State was Thomas Jefferson… His name is Antony Blinken, not Anthony Blinken… Antony Blinken is left-handed… Antony Blinken is standing in the very back of the famous 2011 photo of Obama administration officials watching the killing of Osama bin Laden from a White House conference room.


     

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