Alan Blinken

{{Short description|American businessman and politician (born 1937)}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| image = Alan Blinken.jpg

| image_size =

| order =

| ambassador_from = United States

| country = Belgium

| term_start = July 25, 1993

| term_end = December 27, 1997

| predecessor = Bruce Gelb

| successor = Paul L. Cejas

| president = Bill Clinton

| birth_name = Alan John Blinken

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1937|12|24}}

| birth_place = New York City, New York, U.S.

| death_date =

| death_place =

| spouse = Melinda Koch

| children = 4

| residence = Ketchum, Idaho, U.S.

| relatives = Meir Blinken (grandfather)
Donald M. Blinken (brother)
Antony Blinken (nephew)

| party = Democratic

| education = Harvard University (BA)

}}

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

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 immigrant from Kyiv. His older brother Donald M. Blinken, was also a diplomat. Blinken was raised in Manhattan and Yonkers, New York, and graduated from the Horace Mann School. Blinken earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard University. Blinken studied business and economics. His thesis advisor was John Kenneth Galbraith.{{Cite web |title=Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training Foreign Affairs Oral History Project AMBASSADOR ALAN J. BLINKEN |url=https://adst.org/OH%20TOCs/Blinken-Alan-J.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201123134439/https://adst.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Blinken-Alan-J.pdf |archive-date=2020-11-23 |access-date=11 July 2024 |website=Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training}}

Career

After graduating from Harvard, Blinken worked in the financial services industry, serving as president of Model Roland & Co. and as managing director of Wertheim Schroder & Co. He was a director of the Belgium-based biopharmaceutical manufacturer UCB. Blinken ran for the New York State Assembly in Manhattan, but lost to Republican John Ravitz.{{cite web | url=https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=115360 | title=Our Campaigns - NY Assembly 66 Race - Nov 06, 1990 }}

Blinken served as United States ambassador to Belgium from 1993 to 1997.{{Cite news|last=Preusch|first=Matthew|date=2002-03-13|title=National Briefing {{!}} Northwest: Idaho: Senate Hopeful Cites Jobs|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/13/us/national-briefing-northwest-idaho-senate-hopeful-cites-jobs.html|access-date=2020-11-23|issn=0362-4331}}

A longtime resident of the Upper East Side, Blinken later relocated to Sun Valley, Idaho. In 2002, he was the Democratic nominee for United States Senate in Idaho. He was defeated by incumbent Republican Larry Craig.{{Cite news|last=Egan|first=Timothy|date=2002-08-11|title=Ex-New Yorker Takes Senate Hopes to Idaho (Published 2002)|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/11/us/ex-new-yorker-takes-senate-hopes-to-idaho.html|access-date=2020-11-23|issn=0362-4331}}

Personal life

Blinken was married to Melinda Blinken (née Koch), the daughter of Hollywood producer Howard W. Koch.{{Cite news|agency=Associated Press|date=2001-02-20|title=Howard Koch, 84, Producer and Director (Published 2001)|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/20/arts/howard-koch-84-producer-and-director.html|access-date=2020-11-23|issn=0362-4331}}

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. {{cite journal |title=Appointments |journal=State |volume=375 |issue=March 1994 |page=10 |url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:State_1994-03-_Iss_375_(IA_sim_state-magazine_1994-03_375).pdf&page=12}}{{cite web|title=Donald M. Blinken Papers, 1969–2003|url=https://archives.albany.edu/description/catalog/apap080|access-date=2020-11-17}}{{Cite news|title=Maurice Blinken, 86; Early Backer of Israel |newspaper=The New York Times|date= July 15, 1986|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/07/15/obituaries/maurice-blinken-86-early-backer-of-israel.html }}

Blinken is the grandson of the Ukrainian-born writer Meir Blinken, brother of Donald M. Blinken and uncle of the United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Blinken Auditorium at the Residential Academic Facility of The Washington Center is named after him.{{Cite web|last=Klein|first=David Ian|date=November 23, 2020|title=Tony Blinken: advocate for Israel's Iron Dome, formed by a story of Holocaust rescue|url=https://forward.com/news/459021/tony-blinken-advocate-for-israels-iron-dome-formed-by-a-story-of-holocaust/|access-date=2020-11-23|website=The Forward|language=en-US}}

Blinken and his wife resided in Ketchum, Idaho. In 2019, they hosted a fundraiser for then-candidate Joe Biden.{{Cite web|last=Russell|first=Betsy Z.|title=Joe Biden visiting Idaho next week|url=https://www.idahostatejournal.com/news/local/joe-biden-visiting-idaho-next-week/article_2b35eec7-1f8c-5617-ba70-d81a25e7da70.html|access-date=2020-11-23|website=Idaho State Journal|date=31 July 2019 |language=en}}

Election history

{{Election box begin no change| title=1990 New York State Assembly election, 66th district}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change

|party = Republican Party (United States)

|candidate = John Ravitz

|votes = 12,841

|percentage = 54.15

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

|party = Democratic Party (United States)

|candidate = Alan Blinken

|votes = 10,873

|percentage = 45.85

}}

{{Election box majority no change

|votes = 1,968

|percentage = 8.3

}}

{{Election box turnout no change

|votes = 23,714

|percentage =

}}

{{Election box gain with party link no change

|winner = Republican Party (United States)

|loser = Democratic Party (United States)

|swing =

}}

{{Election box begin

| title = 2002 U.S. Senate election in Idaho{{cite web | url=http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/2002/2002Stat.htm#12 | title=2002 ELECTION STATISTICS | publisher=Clerk.house.gov | access-date=September 3, 2013}}}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link

| party = Republican Party (United States)

| candidate = Larry Craig (incumbent)

| votes = 266,215

| percentage = 65.16%

| change = +8.14%

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link

| party = Democratic Party (United States)

| candidate = Alan Blinken

| votes = 132,975

| percentage = 32.55%

| change = -7.36%

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link

| party = Libertarian Party (United States)

| candidate = Donovan Bramwell

| votes = 9,354

| percentage = 2.29%

| change =

}}

{{Election box majority

| votes = 133,240

| percentage = 32.61%

| change = +15.50%

}}

{{Election box turnout

| votes = 408,544

| percentage =

| change =

}}

{{Election box hold with party link

| winner = Republican Party (United States)

| loser =

| swing =

}}

References

External links

[https://web.archive.org/web/20060317235854/http://www.ucb-group.com/investor_relations/CorporateGovernance/BoardofDirectors/alan_john_blinken.asp Bio on UCB's web site]
{{C-SPAN|1003145}}

{{succession box

|title=Democratic Party nominee, U.S. Senator (Class 2) from Idaho

|before=Walt Minnick

|after=Larry LaRocco

|years=2002 (lost)}}

{{succession box

|title=United States Ambassador to Belgium

|before=Bruce Gelb

|after=Paul L. Cejas

|years=1993-1997}}

Category:1937 births

Category:Living people