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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]
- Overview
- Early life
- Early career
- Secretary of state
Antony Blinken (born April 16, 1962, Yonkers, New York, U.S.) American government official best known as the 71st U.S. secretary of state (2021– ). U.S. president-elect Joe Biden nominated Blinken in November 2020, and he was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on January 26, 2021. He held foreign policy adviser roles for three U.S. presidential administr...
Blinken was born in Yonkers, New York, to Judith (née Frehm) Blinken, who would later be appointed as a UNESCO special envoy for cultural diplomacy (2017– ), and Donald Blinken, a venture capitalist who later served as the U.S. ambassador to Hungary (1994–97). Blinken’s parents divorced in 1971, and Judith married Holocaust survivor and lawyer Samu...
Blinken’s career in public service began when was hired as a special assistant in the Bureau for European and Canadian Affairs at the U.S. State Department in 1993. He joined the National Security Council staff in 1994 under Pres. Bill Clinton, a role that he held until 2001, and he also served as a foreign policy speechwriter for Clinton. In 2002 ...
The Biden administration sought to create a foreign policy legacy distinct from that of former president Donald Trump’s administration, which had frequently criticized American allies and partners in Europe and Asia. Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III visited Japan and South Korea in March 2021 and worked with their diplomatic counterparts to affirm the importance of U.S. alliances with those countries.
In February 2020 the Trump administration, in an agreement with the Taliban, had initiated the process to draw down the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan, a move largely viewed by foreign policy experts as impulsive. After carrying out the controversial plan negotiated by the previous administration, the Biden administration was criticized for the chaotic troop withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021, which coincided with a Taliban military campaign to seize control of the country. The House Foreign Affairs Committee subpoenaed Blinken in March 2023 for a dissent cable related to the U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan.
In April 2021 Blinken attended meetings between U.S. and Chinese officials in Anchorage, Alaska, which were intended to ease tensions between the U.S. and China, but the talks highlighted significant policy disagreements between the two countries. In introductory remarks, Blinken characterized the U.S. relationship with China as “…competitive where it should be, collaborative where it can be, adversarial where it must be.”
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The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 galvanized a robust U.S. reaction, including unprecedented sanctions against Russia levied in concert with a broad coalition of allies and partners. Blinken and Austin made an unannounced trip to Kyiv, Ukraine, in April 2022 to meet with Ukrainian Pres. Volodymyr Zelensky. The meeting focused on security and military assistance Ukraine would need to defend itself against the Russian invasion. Blinken made another trip to Kyiv in September 2022 to announce that the Biden administration would provide an additional $2.8 billion in military aid to Ukraine and neighbouring European countries that could be threatened by Russian aggression.
Jan 26, 2021 · Antony J. Blinken is the 71st U.S. Secretary of State. He was nominated by President Biden on November 23, 2020; confirmed by the U.S. Senate on January 26, 2021; and sworn in by Vice President Kamala Harris the following day.
Jan 26, 2021 · On January 27, 2021, the U.S. Department of State welcomed its 71st Secretary of State, Antony J. Blinken, to the Harry S Truman Building in Washington, D.C., following his confirmation and swearing-in on January 26.
Jan 26, 2021 · The 71st secretary of state faces the challenges of restoring America’s standing in the world and reinvigorating a department where many felt demoralized under the past administration.
Jan 26, 2021 · Senators voted 78-22 to approve Blinken, a longtime Biden confidant, as the nation’s 71st secretary of state, succeeding Mike Pompeo. The position is the most senior Cabinet position, with the secretary fourth in the line of presidential succession.
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Acting Under Secretary for Management and Director General Carol Z. Perez swore in Antony Blinken as the 71st secretary of state in the Harry S. Truman Building in Washington, Jan. 26. Blinken previously served as deputy national security advisor from 2013 to 2015 and deputy secretary of state from 2015 to 2017 during the Obama Administration.
