Anthony Blinken
U.S. Secretary of State in the administration of Joe Biden
Anthony John Blinken is the 2015-2017 U.S. Under Secretary of State, U.S. Secretary of State in the administration of President-elect Joe Biden.
Brief Biography
Anthony Blinken was born on April 16, 1962, in New York City, USA.
Blinken, whose father, Donald, was a powerful New York lawyer, attended the prestigious Dalton Private School in New York City.
After his parents divorced, in 1970, Blinken, along with his mother and her new husband, moved to Paris. There his mother headed the American Center for Students and Artists.
Blinken received his undergraduate education at Harvard University, and afterwards he also studied at Columbia University.
As a student, he reported for New Republic.
In 1988, after receiving his law degree, Blinken began practicing law in New York City.
He later became a speechwriter for U.S. President Bill Clinton. He was responsible for foreign policy matters. He was a member of the staff of the U.S. National Security Council. He was also a special assistant to Clinton, focusing on European affairs.
After working with Clinton, he was a member of the think tank leadership at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
From 2002 to 2008, he was Chief of Staff to the Democratic Caucus of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. At the same time he got to know Joe Biden, who was one of the Committee's chairmen.
During Barack Obama's first term, Blinken became Vice President Joe Biden's national security advisor.
Subsequently, he served as deputy national security adviser to the president and undersecretary of state.
In 2020, he served as unofficial press secretary to presidential candidate Joe Biden, commenting on foreign policy issues for the media.
Blinken and Ukraine
Over the past 10 years, Blinken has been to Ukraine several times.
In 2014, he was among the first officials in the U.S. to talk about the need to provide Ukraine with lethal weapons to deter Russia.
In March 2015, while in Kiev, he said the U.S. fully supports Ukraine because it has been helping European countries build a holistic and peaceful union for decades.
He called Russia's aggression against Ukraine and temporary occupation of Crimea a precedent for the entire world, stressing that borders cannot be changed by force.
Speaking of the war in Donbass, Blinken openly called the militants there "Russian puppets.
He also claimed that Russia had enormous influence over the militants and that its desire alone would be enough to end hostilities in eastern Ukraine.
Blinken repeatedly urged Ukraine to implement reforms, fight corruption, and other things.
Blinken and Russia
Blinken openly criticized Trump for his lack of response to information that Russia had offered rewards to Taliban fighters for murdered U.S. military personnel. In particular, he noted that after receiving this report, Trump met with Putin several times, but did not even bring it up.
He also criticized Russia for interfering in the 2016 U.S. election.
Blinken believes that Moscow is becoming increasingly dependent on China in response to its confrontation with the West.
U.S. Secretary of State
On November 23, 2020, Joe Biden released his list of nominees for major positions in the future presidential administration. Tony Blinken was named as a contender for Secretary of State.
Family
Blinken is married to Evan Ryan. She is the granddaughter of the former head of the U.S. Secret Service, and began her career in the 1990s as an aide to U.S. First Lady Hillary Clinton.
The couple is raising minor children.
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