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, 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…
President Biden’s administration is committed to a two-state solution at the end of the war in Gaza, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken has been touring the Middle East seeking support for a self-governing Palestinian regime.
He says he has secured commitments from multiple countries in the area, including commitments for rebuilding Gaza after the end of Israel’s war with Hamas. He said a wider Israeli-Arab normalization is still possible, but emphasized it is only if there is a “pathway to a Palestinian state.”
Some in Israel’s government have called for Gazans to be resettled elsewhere, but Secretary Blinken said the United States is opposed to any such scenario.
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
