William Anthony Kirsopp Lake, commonly known as Anthony Lake or Tony Lake (born April 2, 1939, in Rochester, New York), is an American diplomat, political advisor, academic, and author. He earned a bachelor's degree magna cum laude from Harvard University in 1961 and a Ph.D. from Princeton University in 1974. Lake began his career as a Foreign Service Officer in the U.S. State Department in 1962, serving early assignments including U.S. Vice Consul in Saigon in 1963 and assisting Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. during the Vietnam War. He resigned in 1970 in protest against the Vietnam War. Lake later worked as a speechwriter and advisor in the Carter administration. Under President Bill Clinton, he served as Director of Policy Planning from 1993 and then as National Security Advisor from 1993 to 1997, where he was a key architect of Clinton's foreign policy, playing a pivotal role in shaping U.S. interventions in Somalia, Haiti, and the Balkans, as well as the expansion of NATO. His nomination for CIA Director in 1997 was blocked by Senate Republicans. After leaving government service, Lake taught at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and authored books on international relations, including 'The Tar Baby Option: American Policy Toward Southern Rhodesia' (1976). From 2010 to 2017, he served as the sixth Executive Director of UNICEF, focusing on global child welfare, humanitarian efforts, child rights, emergency response, and global health initiatives. Throughout his career, Lake has been involved in Democratic politics, advising presidential campaigns including those of Al Gore in 2000 and John Kerry in 2004. He was considered for Secretary of State in the Obama administration but withdrew due to confirmation concerns. His early political views were shaped by his parents' differing political affiliations and John F. Kennedy's 'new frontier' campaign message. Lake's career reflects a commitment to liberal internationalism, though he has faced criticism for the Clinton administration's handling of the Rwandan genocide and other humanitarian crises.