Antony John Blinken, commonly known as Tony Blinken, is an American lawyer, diplomat, and politician who served as the 71st United States Secretary of State from 2021 to 2025 under President Joe Biden. In that role, he oversaw key diplomatic matters and foreign policy including Middle East policy, Ukraine support, global alliances, military aid allocations, foreign aid, and diplomatic relations, such as military support to Israel and U.S.-Israel relations, with strong ties to pro-Israel circles. He regularly receives and addresses policy memos and public op-eds regarding Kurdish and Middle Eastern security. Born on April 16, 1962, in Yonkers, New York, to Jewish parents Judith Frehm Blinken, an artist, and Donald Blinken, a venture capitalist and later U.S. Ambassador to Hungary from 1994 to 1998, Blinken's early life was marked by his parents' divorce in 1971. He spent part of his childhood in Paris, where his mother remarried Holocaust survivor and lawyer Samuel Pisar (Source A) after initially being described as remarrying Vernon Jordan (Source B - likely erroneous, as Vernon Jordan was a different prominent figure). Blinken attended the international École Jeannine Manuel, immersing himself in French culture and language. He returned to the United States for higher education, earning a Bachelor of Arts in social studies from Harvard University in 1984, where he wrote for The Harvard Crimson, and a Juris Doctor from Columbia Law School in 1988. After practicing law in New York and Paris, he transitioned into public service, beginning with Michael Dukakis's 1988 presidential campaign and later joining the Clinton administration in 1993 as a special assistant in the State Department's Bureau for European and Canadian Affairs.

Blinken's career as a long-time foreign policy expert spanned multiple administrations. From 1994 to 2001, he served on the National Security Council under President Bill Clinton, including as a speechwriter and senior director. He then worked as a journalist and foreign policy analyst, contributing to outlets like The New York Times and Foreign Affairs, and served as a CNN global affairs analyst. He also served as Democratic Staff Director for the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 2002 to 2008 (Source B). In the Obama administration, Blinken held key national security roles: national security advisor to Vice President Joe Biden from 2009 to 2013, deputy national security advisor from 2013 to 2015, and deputy secretary of state from 2015 to 2017, where he was involved in responses to crises in Syria, Iraq, Libya, and Russia's annexation of Crimea. Post-government, he co-founded WestExec Advisors in 2017, a consulting firm bridging tech and government, and was a partner at Pine Island Capital Partners, focusing on aerospace and defense. Nominated by Biden in November 2020 and confirmed by the Senate on January 26, 2021, Blinken led U.S. diplomacy on issues like the Afghanistan withdrawal in 2021 (which drew criticism for its execution), Ukraine support, and Middle East tensions.

Blinken's tenure as Secretary of State was controversial, drawing criticism for policies on Israel-Palestine, where he was accused by some of enabling alleged war crimes or insufficient pressure on Israel despite U.S. aid, and for engagements with groups like HTS despite U.S. terrorism designations. He faced scrutiny over private sector ties potentially influencing policy and was visible in high-profile moments, such as the 2011 Situation Room during the Osama bin Laden raid. He also faced scrutiny over classified documents found at Biden's properties in 2023, though not directly implicated, and controversies regarding his handling of the 2016 election interference briefings. A Democrat with deep ties to Biden, Blinken is married to Evan Ryan, a former State Department official and former Assistant Secretary of State, since 2002, and they have two children. His Jewish heritage and family ties to Democratic politics have shaped his worldview, emphasizing multilateralism and human rights, though critics from both sides have condemned his policies as either too interventionist or insufficiently aggressive. Post-2025, Blinken has transitioned to private sector advisory roles, continuing to influence U.S. foreign policy networks. His career reflects a blend of government service, legal expertise, and international experience shaped by his bilingual upbringing.