Clay Constantinou (born 1951) is an American

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

and

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

. He served as

US Ambassador Ambassadors of the United States are persons nominated by the president to serve as the country's diplomatic representatives to foreign nations, international organizations, and as ambassadors-at-large. Under Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. ...

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

from 1994 to 1999 and as Dean of the

Whitehead School of Diplomacy The School of Diplomacy and International Relations (SODIR), is a post-secondary, degree-granting institution concentrating on international affairs within Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey. Founded in collaboration with the Un ...

Seton Hall University Seton Hall University (SHU) is a private Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Seton Hall is the oldest diocesan un ...

from 1999 to 2005. He is currently Of Counsel at Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer, P.A. a law firm based in Woodbridge, NJ.

Early life

Constantinou earned a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

from

New Jersey City University New Jersey City University (NJCU) is a public university in Jersey City, New Jersey. Originally chartered in 1927, and known as Jersey City State College for 40 years of its history, New Jersey City University consists of the School of Business, ...

, a J.D. from

Seton Hall University School of Law Seton Hall University School of Law is the law school of Seton Hall University, and is located in downtown Newark, New Jersey. Seton Hall Law is the only private law school in New Jersey, and, according to the ''U.S. News & World Report'' ranking ...

and an

L.L.M. A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

from the

New York University School of Law New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it is the oldest law school in New York City and the oldest surviving law school in New ...

. He practiced law and became a partner in the

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

law firm, Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer. Also active in politics, Constantinou first raised money as part of the Tsongas campaign in 1991 but was recruited and later led the

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

Presidential finance committee/campaign in New Jersey and served as president of the New Jersey State Electoral College, one of 15 electors casting their votes for the Clinton/Gore ticket.1992 Electoral College Votes
accessed December 21, 2006 In 1989, Governor

James Florio James Joseph Florio (August 29, 1937 – September 25, 2022) was an American politician who served as the 49th governor of New Jersey from 1990 to 1994. He was previously the U.S. Representative for New Jersey's 1st congressional district from 19 ...

appointed him Commissioner of the

New Jersey Turnpike Authority The New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA) is a state agency responsible for maintaining the New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway, which are two toll roads in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The agency is headquartered in Woodbridge Towns ...

. Constantinou also served as a member of the Board of Directors of Essex County Utility Authority and of

Horizon Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Jersey Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, headquartered in Newark, New Jersey, Newark, New Jersey is the only licensed Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association plan in New Jersey, providing health insurance coverage to over 3.2 million people thr ...

Ambassadorship

In 1994, Constantinou was appointed the

United States Ambassador Ambassadors of the United States are persons nominated by the president to serve as the country's diplomatic representatives to foreign nations, international organizations, and as ambassadors-at-large. Under Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. ...

. During his tenure, decisions were reached in Luxembourg including

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

expansion,

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

enlargement and Economic and Monetary Union. In the course of the 1997 Luxembourg European Union presidency, he led American delegations and participated in negotiations with EU officials on trade and global-cooperation issues. Ambassador Constantinou has also advised the Clinton Administration on

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

and Eastern Mediterranean issues.

Deanship

In 1999, Constantinou was selected as the first permanent Dean of the Whitehead School of Diplomacy. In 2000 the School of Diplomacy was selected to serve as secretariat and project manager for the 2001

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

theme, ''Dialogue among Civilizations''. The year-long effort produced a report, published by the School, entitled ''Crossing the Divide'' and was presented by

United Nations Secretary-General The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. The role of the secretary-ge ...

Kofi Annan Kofi Atta Annan (; 8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founder ...

to the

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...

. After two three-year terms as Dean, Constantinou returned to private practice.

Honors

In 1991, he was named

Distinguished Alumnus and in 1997

named him "Distinguished Graduate of the Year". In 1999,

conferred Constantinou a Doctor of Letters

honoris causa An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

. In 1996, he earned a certificate at

Harvard Kennedy School The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...

for his participation in the Senior Managers in Government program. In 1999,

President

Glafcos Clerides Glafcos Ioannou Clerides ( el, Γλαύκος Ιωάννου Κληρίδης; 24 April 1919 – 15 November 2013) was a Cypriot politician and barrister who served as the fourth president of Cyprus from 1993 to 2003. At the time of his death, h ...

awarded Constantinou one of the Republic's highest distinctions, the Medal for Exceptional Services. In the same year Archbishop of Cyprus Chrysostomos bestowed upon him the Medal of Saint Barnabas the Apostle. Constantinou is also the recipient of other honors and awards including the Cyprus Federation of America, Annual Testimonial Award and the American Hellenic Institute, National Public Service Award.

References

External links

Patton Boggs biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Constantinou, Clay 1951 births Living people Ambassadors of the United States to Luxembourg Harvard Kennedy School alumni New Jersey City University alumni New Jersey lawyers New York University School of Law alumni Seton Hall University faculty Seton Hall University School of Law alumni New Jersey Democrats American people of Greek Cypriot descent 20th-century American diplomats