User:ElijahPepe/Antony Blinken

Antony John Blinken (born April 16, 1962) is an American lawyer and diplomat currently serving as the 71st secretary of state of the United States since 2021. He previously served as national security advisor to the vice president from 2009 to 2013, deputy national security advisor from 2013 to 2015, and deputy secretary of state from 2015 to 2017.

Early life and education
Antony Blinken was born on April 16, 1962, in Yonkers, New York, to Donald M. Blinken, the former director of the investment bank E.M. Warburg, Pincus & Co. and the U.S. ambassador to Hungary under the Clinton administration, and his wife, Judith Blinken (née Frehm), the UNESCO Special Envoy for Cultural Diplomacy. Donald was a son of New York businessman Maurice Henry Blinken, who is credited for advocating an independent Jewish state to the U.S. government, and Ethel Blinken (née Horowitz), a homemaker; Maurice was a son of Russia-born Jewish author Meir Blinken. Donald's brother Alan Blinken served as the U.S. ambassador to Belgium in the Clinton administration. In an interview with The New York Times following Donald's death, Antony stated that he forged a cordial relationship with his father, discussing news and life in foreign countries.

Blinken began attending the Dalton School in 1967. Judith divorced Donald in 1970, marrying lawyer Samuel Pisar and relocating to France the following year. Artist Christo recalled that he frequented the American Center for Art and Culture, of which his mother was the director. In an interview with The Washington Post, Judith stated she would allow her son to play at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, where she was the director of music, with conductor John Cage. Blinken discussed politics with Radical Party president and The American Challenge author Jean-Jacques Servan-Schreiber, among other dignitaries, including U.S. senators Jacob Javits and Henry M. Jackson. In 1976, Blinken began attending the École Jeannine Manuel, playing for the school's hockey team and partaking in jazz to fund the school's first yearbook; Blinken was a member of the school's band.

Music
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Blinken stated that he became interested in music after listening to "This Guy's in Love with You" by Herb Albert. Blinken recalled an interest in The Beatles—Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) being the first album he owned. After a friend recommended he order Eric Clapton at His Best (1972), Blinken became interested in Chicago blues, particularly Eric Clapton.

Blinken plays rock guitar for Coalition of the Willing.