Antony Blinken
Secretary of State
Antony John Blinken was born in April 1962 in Yonkers, New York. He earned an undergraduate degree in social studies from Harvard University, worked for a publishing company for a year, and then enrolled at Columbia Law School where he earned a Juris Doctor. He entered the private practice of law.
During the administration of President Bill Clinton, Blinken was a member of the National Security Council. For a portion of that time, he was Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Strategic Planning and NSC Senior Director for Speechwriting. Toward the end of that administration, he was Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for European and Canadian Affairs.
In 2002, he was appointed director of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee where he assisted then-Senator Joe Biden on matters of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. He was a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
During the administration of President Barack Obama, Blinken was Deputy Assistant to the President and National Security Advisor to the Vice President, where he helped craft U.S. policy on Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the nuclear program of Iran.
Thereafter, he entered the private sector and founded a political strategy advising team and a private equity firm.
He was nominated by President Joe Biden to be the United States Secretary of State and was confirmed by the Senate in a 78-22 vote, assuming office on January 26, 2021. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
He is married to Evan Ryan. Blinken is Jewish.
In the News…
Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the appointment of a U.S. special envoy for the Horn of Africa, David Satterfield. The position is viewed as a critical indication of U.S. attention to the region despite worsening conflicts — including the devolving civil war in Ethiopia, the rollback of a democratic transition in Sudan, and tensions and fighting between countries in the region related to the instability.
After reports that Beijing was appointing its own special envoy for the imperiled region of the Horn of Africa, the State Department said that President Biden’s administration is not pushing for countries in Africa to choose between a relationship with the U.S. or with China.
The spokesman for the department said, “We are committed to promoting peace, security, and prosperity in the Horn and we’ll work with all partners who share our objectives in that. We don’t ask our partners to choose between the United States and any other country. What we seek is not to make them choose but to give them choices.”
Contact this Leader…
Did you pray for Secretary Blinken? You can let him know at:
The Honorable Antony Blinken, Secretary
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20522
