Antony Blinken

Early life and education

Blinken was born on April 16, 1962, in Yonkers, New York, to Jewish parents, Judith (Frehm) and Donald M. Blinken, who later served as U.S. Ambassador to Hungary. His maternal grandparents were Hungarian Jews. Blinken’s uncle, Alan Blinken, served as the American ambassador to Belgium. His paternal grandfather, Maurice Henry Blinken, was an early backer of Israel who studied its economic viability, and his great-grandfather was Meir Blinken, a Yiddish writer.

Blinken attended the Dalton School in New York City until 1971. He then moved to Paris with his mother Judith and Samuel Pisar, whom she married following her divorce from Donald. Pisar was the lawyer and confidant of British publisher Robert Maxwell. In his confirmation hearing, Blinken told the story of his stepfather, who was the only Holocaust survivor of the 900 children of his school in Poland. Pisar found refuge in a US tank after making a break into the forest during a Nazi death march. In Paris, Blinken attended École Jeannine Manuel.

Blinken attended Harvard University from 1980 to 1984, where he majored in social studies and co-edited Harvard’s daily student newspaper, The Harvard Crimson. Blinken also wrote a number of articles on current affairs for the Crimson. Blinken worked as an intern for The New Republic for around a year after graduating from Harvard. He entered Columbia Law School in 1985 and earned his J.D. degree in 1988. After graduation, he practiced law in New York City and Paris. Blinken worked with his father Donald to raise funds for Michael Dukakis, the Democratic nominee in the 1988 United States presidential election.

In his monograph Ally versus Ally: America, Europe, and the Siberian Pipeline Crisis (1987), Blinken argued that exerting diplomatic pressure on the Soviet Union during the Siberian pipeline crisis was less significant for American interests than maintaining strong relations between the United States and Europe. Ally versus Ally was based on Blinken’s undergraduate thesis.

Early career

Clinton and Bush administrations

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Blinken has held senior foreign policy positions in two administrations over two decades. He was a member of the National Security Council (NSC) staff from 1994 to 2001. From 1994 to 1998, Blinken was Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Strategic Planning and NSC Senior Director for Speechwriting. From 1999 to 2001, he was Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for European and Canadian Affairs.

He supported the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. In 2002, Blinken was appointed staff director for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, a position he served in until 2008. Blinken assisted then-Senator Joe Biden, Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, in formulating Biden’s support for the U.S. invasion of Iraq, with Blinken characterizing the vote to invade Iraq as “a vote for tough diplomacy”.

In the years following the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq, Blinken assisted Biden in formulating a proposal in the Senate to establish in Iraq three independent regions divided along ethnic or sectarian lines: a “Shiastan” in the south, a “Sunnistan” in the north, as well as Iraqi Kurdistan. The proposal was overwhelmingly rejected at home, as well as in Iraq, where the prime minister opposed the partition plan.

He was also a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. In 2008, Blinken worked for Joe Biden’s presidential campaign and was a member of the Obama–Biden presidential transition team.

Obama administration

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Antony Blinken with President Obama

From 2009 to 2013, Blinken was Deputy Assistant to the President and National Security Advisor to the Vice President. In this position, he helped craft U.S. policy on Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the nuclear program of Iran. Blinken was sworn in as Deputy National Security Advisor, succeeding Denis McDonough, on January 20, 2013.

Secretary Kerry Swears in Antony Blinken as Deputy Secretary of State 15616095174

With his wife, Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs Evan Ryan, looking on, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry swears in Antony Blinken as the new Deputy Secretary of State, at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., on January 9, 2015. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]

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

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Of Obama’s 2011 decision to kill Osama bin Laden, Blinken said “I’ve never seen a more courageous decision made by a leader.” A 2013 profile described him as “one of the government’s key players in drafting Syria policy”, for which he served as a public face. Blinken was influential in formulating the Obama administration’s response to the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation in the aftermath of the 2014 Ukrainian revolution.

Blinken supported the 2011 military intervention in Libya and the supply of weapons to Syrian rebels. He condemned the 2016 Turkish coup d’état attempt and expressed support for the democratically elected Turkish government and its institutions, but also criticized the 2016–present purges in Turkey. In April 2015, Blinken voiced support for the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen. He said that “as part of that effort, we have expedited weapons deliveries, we have increased our intelligence sharing, and we have established a joint coordination planning cell in the Saudi operation centre.”

Blinken worked with Biden on requests for American money to replenish Israel’s arsenal of Iron Dome interceptor missiles during the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict. In May 2015, Blinken criticized the persecution of Muslims in Myanmar and warned Myanmar’s leaders about the dangers of anti-Muslim legislation, saying that Rohingya Muslims “should have a path to citizenship. The uncertainty that comes from not having any status is one of the things that may drive people to leave.”

In June 2015, Blinken claimed that more than ten thousand ISIL fighters had been killed by American-led airstrikes against the Islamic State since a U.S.-led coalition launched a campaign against it nine months ago.

Private sector

WestExec Advisors

In 2017, Blinken co-founded WestExec Advisors, a political strategy advising firm, with Michèle Flournoy, Sergio Aguirre, and Nitin Chadda. WestExec’s clients have included Google’s Jigsaw, Israeli artificial-intelligence company Windward, surveillance drone manufacturer Shield AI, which signed a $7.2 million contract with the Air Force, and “Fortune 100 types”. According to Foreign Policy, the firm’s clientele includes “the defense industry, private equity firms, and hedge funds”. Blinken received almost $1.2 million in compensation from WestExec.

In an interview with The Intercept, Flournoy described WestExec’s role as facilitating relationships between Silicon Valley firms and the Department of Defense and law enforcement; Flournoy and others compared WestExec to Kissinger Associates.

Pine Island Capital Partners

Blinken, as well as other Biden transition team members Michele Flournoy, former Pentagon advisor, and Lloyd Austin, Secretary of Defense, are partners of private equity firm Pine Island Capital Partners, a strategic partner of WestExec. Pine Island’s chairman is John Thain, the final chairman of Merrill Lynch before its sale to Bank of America. Blinken went on leave from Pine Island in August 2020 to join the Biden campaign as a senior foreign policy advisor. He said he would divest himself of his equity stake in Pine Island if confirmed for a position in the Biden administration.

During the final stretch of Biden’s presidential campaign, Pine Island raised $218 million for a Special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), a public offering to invest in “defense, government service and aerospace industries” and COVID-19 relief, which the firm’s prospectus (initially filed with the U.S. SEC in September and finalized on November 13, 2020) predicted would be profitable as the government looked to private contractors to address the pandemic. Thain said he chose the other partners because of their “access, network and expertise”.

In a December 2020 New York Times article raising questions about potential conflicts of interest between WestExec principals, Pine Island advisors, including Blinken, and service in the Biden administration, critics called for full disclosure of all WestExec/Pine Island financial relationships, divestiture of ownership stakes in companies bidding on government contracts or enjoying existing contracts, and assurances that Blinken and others recuse themselves from decisions that might advantage their previous clients.

Blinken is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. As of 2020, he was a global affairs analyst for CNN.

Secretary of State

Nomination and confirmation

Kamala Harris swearing in Antony Blinken

Blinken was a foreign policy advisor for Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign. On November 22, 2020, Bloomberg News reported that Biden had selected Blinken as his nominee for secretary of state. These reports were later corroborated by The New York Times and other outlets. On November 24, 2020, upon being announced as Biden’s choice for secretary of state, Blinken said, “We can’t solve all the world’s problems alone we need to be working with other countries.” He had earlier remarked in a September 2020 interview with the Associated Press that “democracy is in retreat around the world, and unfortunately it’s also in retreat at home because of the president taking a two-by-four to its institutions, its values and its people every day.”

Blinken’s confirmation hearing began on January 19, 2021, before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. His nomination was favorably reported out of the committee on January 25, 2021, by a vote of 15–3. On January 26, 2021, Blinken was confirmed in the full Senate by a vote of 78–22. Blinken took the oath of office of the secretary of state later that day. In doing so, he became the third former deputy secretary of state to serve as the Secretary of State, after Lawrence Eagleburger and Warren Christopher in 1992 and 1993, respectively.

Tenure

On January 31, 2021, Blinken condemned the 2021 Myanmar coup d’état and expressed grave concerns on the detention of government officials and civil society leaders, calling for their immediate release. He stated that “the United States will continue to take firm action against those who perpetrate violence against the people of Burma as they demand the restoration of their democratically elected government.”

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In February 2021, having spoken to president Ashraf Ghani, Blinken voiced support for Afghan peace negotiations with Taliban Islamist rebels and reiterated the United States’ commitment to a peace deal that includes a “just and durable political settlement and permanent and comprehensive ceasefire.” That same month, Blinken condemned the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the Tigray region and called for the immediate withdrawal of Eritrean and Amhara forces. Blinken spoke with the interim president of Venezuela, Juan Guaidó, whom the Biden administration will continue to recognize as the country’s head of state and not Nicolás Maduro.

Juan Guaidó

Blinken made his first international trip with Secretary of Defense Austin to Tokyo and Seoul on March 15, 2021, during which he warned China against coercion and aggression. He also condemned the Chinese government for committing genocide against ethnic Uyghurs. Later that month, Blinken traveled to Brussels for a NATO Ministerial with European Union counterparts to underscore the Biden administration’s determination to strengthen transatlantic alliances. Blinken made an unannounced visit to Kabul on April 15, 2021, and met with U.S. military and diplomatic personnel following the Biden administration’s announcement of the 2021 withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan. He said the decision to withdraw from Afghanistan was made in order to focus resources on China and the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Blinken denounced the sentencing of Hong Kong pro-democracy activists Jimmy Lai, Albert Ho, and Lee Cheuk-yan among others, for their roles in the 2019 Hong Kong protests.

In late April 2021, Blinken denounced the sentencing of Hong Kong pro-democracy activists Jimmy Lai, Albert Ho, and Lee Cheuk-yan among others, for their roles in the 2019 Hong Kong protests, calling it a “politically-motivated” decision. In the midst of the Biden administration’s continuing review of the normalization agreement between Morocco and Israel enacted during the previous administration, Blinken maintained that the recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over the disputed territory of Western Sahara will not be reversed imminently. During internal discussions, he supported improving relations between the two countries and expressed urgency in appointing a United Nations envoy to Western Sahara.

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken arrives in London, the United Kingdom on May 2, 2021, to attend the G7 Foreign and Development Minister’s Meeting in London. [State Department photo by Ron Przysucha/ Public Domain]

In May 2021, Blinken traveled to London and Reykjavík for the G7 Foreign and Development Ministers’ meeting and the Arctic Council Ministerial meeting respectively. In a meeting with president Volodymyr Zelensky and foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba in Kyiv, Blinken reaffirmed support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity against “Russian aggression”. During the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Blinken expressed support for Israel’s right to defend itself but warned that evicting Palestinian families from their homes in East Jerusalem is among the actions that could further escalate outbreaks of violence and retaliation. He, along with the United Nations Security Council, called for full adherence to the truce and stressed the immediate need for humanitarian aid for Palestinian civilians while reiterating the need for a two-state solution. Following the ceasefire and coinciding Blinken’s visit to Jerusalem on May 25, the transfer of food and medical supplies furnished by the United Nations and Physicians for Human Rights, aid workers, and journalists were permitted into the Gaza Strip.

The decision to waive sanctions against Nord Stream AG and its chief executive Matthias Warnig, subsequent to the completion of the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline, has drawn congressional criticisms. Blinken defended the action as pragmatic and practical to U.S. interests and remarked that proceeding otherwise would be counterproductive with European relations. In June 2021, Blinken traveled with Biden to attend the 47th G7 summit in Cornwall, the 31st NATO summit in Brussels, and the summit meeting with president Vladimir Putin in Geneva. Blinken and Biden both acknowledged that U.S. and Russia relations are at their lowest point and a more predictable relationship remains a key priority. However, he signaled that further punitive actions will be enforced if the Russian government chooses to continue with hostile activities such as interference in the 2020 presidential elections, the SolarWinds cyberattack, or the apparent poisoning and imprisonment of Alexei Navalny. Of the administration’s decision to forego a joint press conference after the summit, Blinken explained that it is “the most effective way” and “not a rare practice”.

In July 2021, the Biden administration accused China of a global cyberespionage campaign, which Blinken said posed “a major threat to our economic and national security”.

In August 2021, Blinken rejected comparisons between the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan due to the Taliban offensive, which started in May 2021 after U.S. and coalition military forces began withdrawing from Afghanistan, and the chaotic American departure from Saigon in 1975, saying that “We went to Afghanistan 20 years ago with one mission, and that mission was to deal with the folks who attacked us on 9/11 and we have succeeded in that mission.”

Foreign policy positions

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Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken meets with European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the European Commission Josep Borrell, in Brussels, Belgium, on March 24, 2021. [State Department photo by Ron Przysucha/ Public Domain]

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As foreign policy advisor to then 2020 Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, The New York Times described Blinken as “ha[ving] Biden’s ear on policy issues”. Blinken has asserted that “[Biden] would not tie military assistance to Israel to things like annexation or other decisions by the Israeli government with which we might disagree”. Blinken praised the Trump administration-brokered normalization agreements between Israel and Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. On October 28, 2020, Blinken reaffirmed that a Biden administration will undertake strategic review of the relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia, ensuring that it advances U.S interests and values. In January 2021, Blinken has stated the Biden administration would keep the American embassy to Israel in Jerusalem and would seek a two-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.

Blinken is in favor of continuing non-nuclear sanctions against Iran and described it as “a strong hedge against Iranian misbehavior in other areas”. He criticized former President Trump’s withdrawal of the U.S. from the international nuclear agreement with Iran and expressed support for a “longer and stronger” nuclear deal. Blinken did not rule out a military intervention to stop Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

Blinken has been critical of the Trump administration in aiding China to advance its own key strategic goals. He stated: “[Trump] weaken[ed] American alliances, leaving a vacuum in the world for China to fill, abandoning our values and giving China a green light to trample on human rights and democracy from Xinjiang to Hong Kong”.However, he also credited the former president’s administration for its aggressive approach and has characterized China as a “techno-autocracy” which seeks world dominance. He indicated a desire to welcome political refugees from Hong Kong and stated that the Biden administration’s commitment to Taiwan’s defense would “absolutely endure”, and that China’s use of military force against Taiwan “would be a grievous mistake on their part”. Blinken has also viewed China is committing genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghur Muslims and other ethnic minorities in its northwestern region of Xinjiang. Blinken has characterized former president Trump’s Phase One trade deal with China as “a debacle”. He said it was unrealistic to “fully decouple” from China and has expressed support for “stronger economic ties with Taiwan”.

Blinken has indicated American interest in robust ties between itself, Greece, Israel, and Cyprus regarding the Eastern Mediterranean Security and Energy Partnership Act and acknowledged the threats posed by an expansionist Turkey, which is “not acting like an ally”. He opposed Turkish president Recep Erdogan’s call for “a two-state solution in Cyprus”, saying the Biden administration is committed to the reunification of Cyprus. Blinken has also suggested that he would consider sanctioning the Erdogan administration. Blinken reaffirmed his support of keeping NATO’s door open for Georgia, a country in the Caucasus, and raised the argument that NATO member countries have been more effectively shielded from “Russian aggression”.

Blinken expressed his support of extending the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty with Russia to limit the number of deployed strategic nuclear warheads. Blinken said the Biden administration will “review” security assistance to Azerbaijan due to the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh and voiced his support for “the provision to Armenia of security assistance”.^[120]

Blinken is opposed to the United Kingdom’s separation from the European Union and has referred to it as a “total mess” with adverse consequences to U.S. interest. Blinken expressed concern over perceived human rights violations in Egypt under the presidency of Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. He condemned the arrest of three employees for the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights organization, saying that “meeting with foreign diplomats is not a crime. Nor is peacefully advocating for human rights.” Referring to the re-instated Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, declared by the Taliban following their 2021 capture of Kabul, Blinken has stated that the United States will not recognize any government that harbors terrorist groups or that does not uphold basic human rights.

Personal life

Blinken and Evan Ryan

Blinken is Jewish. In 2002, Blinken married Evan Ryan in a bi-denominational ceremony officiated by a rabbi and priest at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Washington, D.C., and they have two children together. He is fluent in French. He plays guitar and has three songs available on Spotify by the alias ABlinken (pronounced “Abe Lincoln”).

Antony Blinken performing with Jeff “Skunk” Baxter in 2016. Blinken says he’s an entirely self-taught guitarist, “which is evident if you hear me play.” Courtesy of Antony Blinken

Antony Blinken
Official portrait, 2021
Seal of the United States Department of State
71st United States Secretary of State
Incumbent
Assumed office January 26, 2021
President	Joe Biden
Deputy	Wendy Sherman
Preceded by	Mike Pompeo
18th United States Deputy Secretary of State
In office January 9, 2015 – January 20, 2017
President	Barack Obama
Secretary	John Kerry
Preceded by	William J. Burns
Succeeded by	John Sullivan
26th United States Deputy National Security Advisor
In office January 20, 2013 – January 9, 2015
President	Barack Obama
Preceded by	Denis McDonough
Succeeded by	Avril Haines
National Security Advisor to the Vice President of the United States
In office January 20, 2009 – January 20, 2013
Vice President	Joe Biden
Preceded by	John P. Hannah
Succeeded by	Jake Sullivan
Personal details
Born	Antony John Blinken April 16, 1962 (age 59) Yonkers, New York, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Evan Ryan (m. 2002)
Children	2
Parent(s)	Donald M. Blinken (father)
Relatives	Alan Blinken (uncle) Samuel Pisar (stepfather)
Education	Harvard University (BA) Columbia University (JD)

Publications

Blinken, Antony J. (1987). Ally versus Ally: America, Europe, and the Siberian Pipeline Crisis. New York: Praeger. ISBN 0-275-92410-6. OCLC 14359172.^[5]
Blinken, Antony J. (2001). “The False Crisis Over the Atlantic”. Foreign Affairs. 80 (3): 35–48. doi:10.2307/20050149. JSTOR 20050149.
Blinken, Antony J. (June 2002). “Winning the War of Ideas”. The Washington Quarterly. 25 (2): 101–114. doi:10.1162/01636600252820162. ISSN 0163-660X. S2CID 154183240.
Blinken, Antony J. (December 2003). “From Preemption to Engagement”. Survival. 45 (4): 33–60. doi:10.1080/00396330312331343576. ISSN 0039-6338. S2CID 154077314.

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