Blinken, Antony John, 1962–, U.S. government official, b. Yonkers, N.Y., J.D. Columbia, 1988. A Democrat, he served (1994–2001) on the staff of the National Security Council under President Clinton. From 2002 to 2008 he headed the Democratic staff for the Senate foreign relations committee, and began his association with Joseph Biden, who was the committee's ranking Democrat. Under President Obama, he was national security adviser (2009–13) to Vice President Biden, deputy national security adviser (2013–15), and deputy secretary of state (2015–17). He then co-founded a political consulting firm and was a partner in an investment firm before he became a foreign policy adviser to Biden, then a candidate for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. In 2021, President Biden nominated Blinken to be secretary of state.
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