Barbara Mills Larkin (born July 26, 1951, in

Dubuque, Iowa Dubuque (, ) is a city in Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. The population was 59,667 at the 2020 United States census. The city lies along the Mississippi River at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a region ...

) was

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs The assistant secretary of state for legislative affairs is the head of the Bureau of Legislative Affairs within the United States Department of State. List of assistant secretaries of state for legislative affairs References External links ...

from 1996 to 2001.

Biography

Larkin enrolled in

Clarke College Clarke College may refer to: * Clarke College, the former name of Clarke University, in Dubuque, Iowa, U.S. * Clarke College, in 1992 merged into Mississippi College, in Clinton, Mississippi, U.S. * William Clarke College, in Sydney, New South Wale ...

in 1969 and received a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

in 1973. She then attended the

University of Iowa College of Law The University of Iowa College of Law is the law school of the University of Iowa, located in Iowa City, Iowa. It was founded in 1865. History The law school was founded in 1865 by George Grover Wright and Chester C. Cole as an independent la ...

, earning a J.D. in 1977. During her time in law school, Larkin spent 1974-75 as legislative aide of Rep.

Mike Blouin Michael Thomas Blouin (born November 7, 1945) is an American politician who served as a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from 1975 to 1979, representing Iowa's 2nd congressional district. He was a candidate in th ...

( D— IA-2). After law school, Larkin joined the

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...

, law firm of Sanford, Adams, McCullough, and Beard. In 1986, she became chief counsel and foreign policy adviser of

Sen. A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the eld ...

Terry Sanford James Terry Sanford (August 20, 1917April 18, 1998) was an American lawyer and politician from North Carolina. A member of the Democratic Party, Sanford served as the 65th Governor of North Carolina from 1961 to 1965, was a two-time U.S. pre ...

( D— NC). Sanford was a member of the

United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations The United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is a Standing committee (United States Congress), standing committee of the United States Senate, U.S. Senate charged with leading Foreign policy of the United States, foreign-policy legi ...

, and Larkin also worked on the professional staff of the

United States Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South and Central Asian Affairs The Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near East, South Asia, Central Asia, and Counterterrorism is one of seven subcommittees of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Jurisdiction This subcommittee deals with all matters concerning U.S. ...

. She became

legislative director A legislative assistant (LA), legislative analyst, legislative research assistant, or legislative associate, is a person who works for a legislator as a Legislature, legislative staffer in a semi-Politics, political Partisan (politics), partisan c ...

and counsel to Sen.

Dianne Feinstein Dianne Emiel Feinstein (; June 22, 1933 – September 29, 2023) was an American politician who served as a United States senator from California from 1992 until her death in 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as the 38th ...

( D— CA). A year later, Larkin moved to the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy of the United State ...

, becoming Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs (Senate). On April 17, 1996,

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

nominated Larkin as

and, after

Senate confirmation Advice and consent is an English phrase frequently used in enacting formulae of bills and in other legal or constitutional contexts. It describes either of two situations: where a weak executive branch of a government enacts something previ ...

, Larkin subsequently held this office from July 19, 1996, until January 19, 2001. In February 2004, Larkin became Vice President (Policy and Advocacy) of

CARE Care may refer to: Organizations and projects * CARE (New Zealand), Citizens Association for Racial Equality, a former New Zealand organisation * CARE (England) West Midlands, Central Accident Resuscitation Emergency team, a team of doctors & ...

, a position she held until September 2008. In March 2010, she became a senior advisor to the Administrator of the

United States Agency for International Development The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an agency of the United States government that has been responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. Established in 1961 and reorganized in 1998 ...

References

External links

Press Release Announcing Clinton's Nomination of Larkin as Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Larkin, Barbara 1951 births Living people United States assistant secretaries of state Clinton administration personnel People from Dubuque, Iowa Clarke University alumni University of Iowa College of Law alumni North Carolina lawyers