Alan John Blinken (born December 24, 1937) is an American businessman, political candidate, and former diplomat who served as the

United States Ambassador to Belgium In 1832, shortly after the creation of the Kingdom of Belgium, the United States established diplomatic relations. Since that time, a long line of distinguished envoys have represented American interests in Belgium. These diplomats included men ...

from 1993 to 1997. Blinken was also the Democratic nominee in the 2002 United States Senate election in Idaho, losing to incumbent

Larry Craig Lawrence Edwin Craig (born July 20, 1945) is an American retired politician from the state of Idaho. A Republican, Craig represented Idaho in the United States Senate from 1991 to 2009 and represented Idaho's 1st District in the U.S. House of ...

Early life and education

Blinken was born on December 24, 1937, in New York City, the son of Ethel (Horowitz) and Maurice Blinken. His father was a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

immigrant from

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

. His older brother

Donald M. Blinken Donald Mayer Blinken (November 11, 1925 – September 22, 2022) was an American businessman and diplomat. A co-founder of the private equity firm Warburg Pincus, he was the chairman of the board of the State University of New York from 1978 to 1 ...

, was also a diplomat. Blinken was raised in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

and

Yonkers, New York Yonkers () is the List of municipalities in New York, third-most populous city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and the most-populous City (New York), city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County. A centrally locate ...

, and graduated from the

Horace Mann School Horace Mann School (also known as Horace Mann or HM) is an American private, independent college-preparatory school in the Bronx, founded in 1887. Horace Mann is a member of the Ivy Preparatory School League, educating students from the New Yo ...

. Blinken earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

. Blinken studied business and economics. His thesis advisor was

John Kenneth Galbraith John Kenneth Galbraith (October 15, 1908 – April 29, 2006), also known as Ken Galbraith, was a Canadian-American economist, diplomat, public official, and intellectual. His books on economic topics were bestsellers from the 1950s through the ...

Career

After graduating from Harvard, Blinken worked in the

financial services Financial services are service (economics), economic services tied to finance provided by financial institutions. Financial services encompass a broad range of tertiary sector of the economy, service sector activities, especially as concerns finan ...

industry, serving as

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of Model Roland & Co. and as

managing director A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of Wertheim Schroder & Co. He was a

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

of the Belgium-based

biopharmaceutical A biopharmaceutical, also known as a biological medical product, or biologic, is any pharmaceutical drug product manufactured in, extracted from, or semisynthesized from biological sources. Different from totally synthesized pharmaceuticals, t ...

manufacturer UCB. Blinken ran for the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Ass ...

in Manhattan, but lost to Republican

John Ravitz John A. Ravitz (born 1960) is an American businessman and former politician who served in the New York State Assembly from 1991 to 2002. A Rockefeller Republican, he represented a district in Manhattan. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the N ...

. Blinken served as United States ambassador to Belgium from 1993 to 1997. A longtime resident of the

Upper East Side The Upper East Side, sometimes abbreviated UES, is a neighborhood in the boroughs of New York City, borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded approximately by 96th Street (Manhattan), 96th Street to the north, the East River to the e ...

, Blinken later relocated to

Sun Valley, Idaho Sun Valley is a resort city in the western United States, in Blaine County, Idaho, adjacent to the city of Ketchum in the Wood River valley. The population was 1,783 at the 2020 census. The elevation of Sun Valley (at the Lodge) is above se ...

. In 2002, he was the Democratic nominee for

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

. He was defeated by incumbent Republican

Personal life

Blinken was married to Melinda Blinken (née Koch), the daughter of Hollywood producer

Howard W. Koch Howard Winchel Koch (April 11, 1916 – February 16, 2001) was an American film producer and director. He served as president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and was involved in the production and direction of numerous films th ...

. His father, Maurice Blinken, was an early backer of Israel and founded the American Palestine Institute which helped persuade the United States to back the creation of Israel. Blinken is the grandson of the Ukrainian-born writer Meir Blinken, brother of

and uncle of the

United States Secretary of State The United States secretary of state (SecState) is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The secretary of state serves as the principal advisor to the ...

Antony Blinken Antony John Blinken (born April 16, 1962) is an American lawyer and diplomat who served as the 71st United States secretary of state from 2021 to 2025. He previously served as Deputy National Security Advisor, deputy national security advisor ...

. Blinken Auditorium at the Residential Academic Facility of

The Washington Center The Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars, less formally known as The Washington Center, is an independent, nonprofit organization serving hundreds of universities in the United States and other countries. The Washington Center ...

is named after him. Blinken and his wife resided in

Ketchum, Idaho Ketchum is a city in Blaine County, Idaho, United States. Located in the central part of the state, the population was 3,555 at the 2020 census, up from 2,689 in 2010. Located in the Wood River Valley, Ketchum is adjacent to Sun Valley and ...

. In 2019, they hosted a fundraiser for then-candidate

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

Election history

References

External links