Kenneth R. Weinstein

Weinstein began his career as a researcher at Hudson Institute, before taking positions at the New Citizenship Project, the Shalem Center and the Heritage Foundation.{{Cite web|date=2013-07-30|title=President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts|url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2013/07/30/president-obama-announces-more-key-administration-posts-0|access-date=2021-06-21|website=whitehouse.gov|language=en}} He rejoined Hudson in 1999, serving as director of Hudson's Washington office and its COO before taking over as CEO in 2005. Under Weinstein's leadership, Hudson Institute grew significantly in size and impact, building ties to elected and appointed officials on both sides of the aisle in the US and around the world, becoming one of Washington's most influential think tanks. During his tenure as President and CEO, Hudson nearly tripled its annual budget to $20 million and quintupled its endowment to $60 million.{{Cite web|title=Experts – Kenneth R. Weinstein |url=http://www.hudson.org/experts/432-kenneth-r-weinstein|access-date=2021-06-21|website=www.hudson.org|language=en}}{{Cite web|last=Nichols|first=Hans|title=John Walters to lead Hudson Institute|url=https://www.axios.com/hudson-institute-new-leader-0c5bdfc3-e197-4331-b4c1-83a64618f3a2.html|access-date=2021-06-21|website=Axios|date=31 December 2020|language=en}} Among the many noted experts Weinstein recruited to Hudson are Walter Russell Mead, Michael Pillsbury, H. R. McMaster, Elaine Chao, Nadia Schadlow, Patrick Cronin{{Cite web|title=Experts – Patrick M. Cronin |url=http://www.hudson.org/experts/1259-patrick-m-cronin|access-date=2021-06-21|website=www.hudson.org|language=en}} and Christopher DeMuth.

In addition to his work at Hudson Institute, Weinstein was nominated by President George W. Bush and confirmed by the US Senate in 2006 to serve on the National Council for the Humanities, the board which oversees the National Endowment for the Humanities.{{Cite web|date=2006-08-03|title=PN1699 – Nomination of Kenneth R. Weinstein for National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities, 109th Congress (2005–2006)|url=https://www.congress.gov/nomination/109th-congress/1699|access-date=2021-06-21|website=www.congress.gov}}{{Cite web|title=New Members Join Humanities Endowment's National Council|url=https://www.neh.gov/news/press-release/2006-11-15|access-date=2021-06-21|website=The National Endowment for the Humanities|language=en}} In 2013, he was nominated by President Obama to serve on the Broadcasting Board of Governors (now the U.S. Agency for Global Media), the agency which oversees Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, and other government broadcasting programs. Weinstein was later elected by his fellow governors as chairman of the BBG in 2017, a position in which he served until 2020.{{Cite web|title=Kenneth Weinstein|url=https://www.usagm.gov/who-we-are/board/kenneth-weinstein/|access-date=2021-06-21|website=USAGM|language=en-US}} In September 2018, he was appointed to the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations by President Donald Trump.{{cite web|last=|first=|date=25 September 2018|title=President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Appoint Personnel to Key Administration Posts|url=https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/presidential-actions/president-donald-j-trump-announces-intent-appoint-personnel-key-administration-posts-10/|access-date=7 February 2020|work=whitehouse.gov|via=National Archives}}{{cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations (ACTPN)|url=https://ustr.gov/about-us/advisory-committees/advisory-committee-trade-policy-and-negotiations-actpn|access-date=7 February 2020|website=Office of the United States Trade Representative}}

File:Ken Weinstein and Shinzo Abe.jpg introduced by Weinstein at grand opening of Hudson Institute's Betsy and Walter Stern Policy Center, Washington, DC, April 2016]]

File:Kenneth Weinstein and Edgars Rinkēvičs 25288827041.jpg]]

On March 13, 2020, President Donald Trump announced his intent to nominate Weinstein as the next U.S. Ambassador to Japan.{{cite web | url=https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/presidential-actions/president-donald-j-trump-announces-intent-nominate-following-individual-key-administration-post-2/ | title=President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate the Following Individual to a Key Administration Post | last= | first= | date=13 March 2020 | via=National Archives | work=whitehouse.gov | access-date=14 March 2020}} Given Weinstein's policy expertise, his nomination received strong bipartisan support, including from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce,{{Cite web|date=2020-08-03|title=U.S. Chamber Letter on the Nomination of Dr. Kenneth Weinstein to be Ambassador to Japan|url=https://www.uschamber.com/letters-congress/us-chamber-letter-the-nomination-of-dr-kenneth-weinstein-be-ambassador-japan-0|access-date=2021-06-23|website=U.S. Chamber of Commerce|language=en|archive-date=2021-07-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210727061907/https://www.uschamber.com/letters-congress/us-chamber-letter-the-nomination-of-dr-kenneth-weinstein-be-ambassador-japan-0|url-status=dead}} former Vice Presidents Walter Mondale and Dan Quayle, former Directors of National Intelligence Dan Coats and Dennis Blair, and former UN ambassador Nikki Haley, as well as noted Asia policy experts Kurt Campbell, Michael Green, and Joseph Nye.{{Cite web|title=Weinstein Support Letter|url=https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.hudson.org/Weinstein%20Support%20Letter.pdf}} Weinstein was introduced at his Senate Foreign Relations Committee nomination hearing by former Senator Joseph Lieberman, who noted Weinstein "has developed not only a great knowledge of [the] U.S.–Japanese relationship, but very deep friendships and trusting relationships within Japan, both in the government and in the business community."{{Cite news|last=Weiss|first=Melissa|date=2020-08-06|title=In Senate hearing, Ken Weinstein gets a boost from Joe Lieberman|url=https://jewishinsider.com/2020/08/in-senate-hearing-ken-weinstein-gets-boost-from-former-sen-joe-lieberman/|access-date=2021-06-09|website=Jewish Insider|language=en-US}} Weinstein's testimony focused on the strategic convergence between the U.S. and Japan in the Abe-Trump era, and on the need for increased defense and technological cooperation to meet the challenge posed by the People's Republic of China.{{Cite web|title=Weinstein Nomination Hearing Testimony|url=https://www.foreign.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/080520_Weinstein_Testimony.pdf}}{{Cite web|last=Tanaka|first=Miya|title=U.S. envoy to Japan nominee wants Japan to take bigger alliance role|url=https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2020/08/491453d044af-update1-us-envoy-to-japan-nominee-wants-japan-to-take-bigger-alliance-role.html|access-date=2021-06-09|website=Kyodo News}}

Weinstein received unanimous support from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which voted him out of committee on September 22, 2020.{{Cite web|title=Business Meeting {{!}} United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations|url=https://www.foreign.senate.gov/hearings/business-meeting-092220|access-date=2021-06-09|website=www.foreign.senate.gov|date=22 September 2020 |language=en}} Following the committee vote, Weinstein was praised by Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato for having "built personal connections with a wide range of Japanese stakeholders, both public and private," noting, "I expect his official appointment will greatly contribute to the even further development of U.S.–Japan relations."{{Cite web|date=2020-09-23|title=Trump's nominee for U.S. ambassador to Japan passes key hurdle|url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/09/23/national/politics-diplomacy/donald-trump-us-ambassador-japan/|access-date=2021-06-09|website=The Japan Times|language=en-US}} Due to debate in the Senate over Ruth Bader Ginsburg's replacement on the Supreme Court, and the November 2020 election, no non-career nominee for a U.S. ambassadorship was able to be confirmed in the fall of 2020. Weinstein's nomination lapsed at the end of the 116th Congress.{{Cite web|date=2021-01-03|title=PN1711 – Nomination of Kenneth R. Weinstein for Department of State, 116th Congress (2019–2020)|url=https://www.congress.gov/nomination/116th-congress/1711|access-date=2021-06-09|website=www.congress.gov}}

Weinstein is a political theorist who received his Bachelor of Arts in General Studies in the Humanities from the University of Chicago,{{cite journal|last1=Weinstein|first1=Kenneth|last2=Li|first2=Hansong|date=April 17, 2017|title=An Alumnus' Journey from Imagined Principalities to the Real Republic A Conversation with Kenneth Weinstein, AB '84|url=http://midwayreview.uchicago.edu/a/12/2/Li/Li.pdf|journal=Midway Review|issue=2|pages=41–50|access-date=July 19, 2017}} his Master of Philosophy in Soviet and Eastern European studies from the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris and his Doctor of Philosophy in political science from Harvard University. He grew up in Rego Park, Queens and attended Stuyvesant High School. He has taught at Claremont McKenna College and Georgetown University.

Weinstein, who speaks French and German, has been decorated with a knighthood in Arts and Letters by the French Ministry of Culture and Communication as a Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. Married to Amy Kauffman, and the father of three, he lives in Washington, D.C. He is a member of Kesher Israel Synagogue.{{Cite web|last=Lerer |first=Lisa |authorlink= |title=Yom Kippur marks D.C. networking bonanza |publisher=Politico|date=September 21, 2007 |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2007/09/yom-kippur-marks-dc-networking-bonanza-005944 |access-date=}}

• {{Cite news|last1=Weinstein|first1=Kenneth|last2=Sibley|first2=Nate|date=June 13, 2019|title=America Must Combat Illicit Finance|work=The Hill|url=https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/448327-america-must-combat-illicit-finance}}
• {{Cite news|last=Weinstein|first=Kenneth R.|date=November 5, 2017|title=Trump Brings a New Seriousness With Him to Asia|work=The Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-brings-a-new-seriousness-with-him-to-asia-1509907405}}
• {{Cite web|last=Weinstein|first=Kenneth R.|date=July 13, 2017|title=The terror-fighting burden on Emmanuel Macron: What President Trump should ask from the French president|url=https://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/terror-fighting-burden-emmanuel-macron-article-1.3323387|website=New York Daily News}}
• {{Cite news|last1=Weinstein|first1=Kenneth R.|last2=Herman|first2=Arthur|date=February 8, 2017|title=Will Japan Be the U.S.'s New 'Special Relationship'?|work=National Review|url=https://www.nationalreview.com/2017/02/japan-us-important-relationship/}}
• {{Cite video|url=https://www.hudson.org/research/11924-options-for-reforming-u-s-overseas-broadcasting|title=Options for Reforming U.S. Overseas Broadcasting|date=November 17, 2015|last=Weinstein|first=Kenneth R.|type=Congressional testimony}}
• {{Cite video|url=https://www.hudson.org/research/11422-subcommittee-hearing-the-global-magnitsky-human-rights-accountability-act|title=Subcommittee Hearing: The Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act|date=April 29, 2015|last=Weinstein|first=Kenneth R.|type=Congressional testimony}}
• {{Cite news|last=Weinstein|first=Kenneth R.|date=February 24, 2015|title=A French Lesson for American Liberals|work=The Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/kenneth-r-weinstein-a-french-lesson-for-american-liberals-1424821664}}
• {{Cite journal|last=Weinstein|first=Kenneth R.|date=May 2014|title=Hollande The Hawk? An Unlikely Ally Emerges|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43555067|journal=World Affairs|volume=177|issue=1|pages=87–96|jstor=43555067}}
• {{Cite video|url=https://www.hudson.org/research/10117-ken-weinstein-discusses-president-hollande-s-visit-to-u-s-on-bfmtv-france-|title=Ken Weinstein discusses President Hollande's visit to U.S. on BFMTV|date=February 11, 2014|last=Weinstein|first=Kenneth R.|type=TV interview|language=French}}
• {{Cite news|last1=Weinstein|first1=Kenneth|last2=Yoshihara|first2=Kin-ichi|date=October 25, 2013|title=Why America Needs Japan More than Ever|work=RealClearWorld|url=https://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/10/25/why_america_needs_japan_more_than_ever.html}}
• {{Cite news|last=Weinstein|first=Kenneth R.|date=April 1, 2013|title=Venus and Mars Revisited|work=The Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887323501004578388671109435456}}
• {{Cite web|last=Weinstein|first=Kenneth R.|date=September 11, 2012|title=Return to Fulda|url=http://www.jewishideasdaily.com/4968/features/return-to-fulda/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201021052929/http://www.jewishideasdaily.com/4968/features/return-to-fulda/|archive-date=October 21, 2020|website=Jewish Ideas Daily}}
• {{Cite news|last=Weinstein|first=Kenneth R.|date=October 13, 2010|title=Sarkozy's Russian Gamble|work=The Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703673604575549903510133136}}
• {{Cite book|last=Kahn|first=Herman|title=The Essential Herman Kahn: In Defense of Thinking|publisher=Lexington Books|year=2009|isbn=978-0739128299|editor-last=Weinstein|editor-first=Kenneth R.|location=Lanham|editor-last2=Aligica|editor-first2=Paul Dragos}}
• {{Cite conference|last=Weinstein|first=Kenneth R.|date=July 10, 2006|title=Opening Remarks on US-Japan-India Trilateral Relations|url=https://www.hudson.org/research/4106-opening-remarks-on-us-japan-india-trilateral-relations|conference=AFJ-Hudson Institute Conference}}
• {{Cite book|title=A Roadmap for Japan's Future|publisher=Tokuma Shoten|year=2003|isbn=978-4198617516|editor-last=Weinstein|editor-first=Kenneth R.|location=Tokyo|editor-last2=London|editor-first2=Herbert I.}}
• {{Cite journal|last=Weinstein|first=Kenneth R.|date=May 8, 2000|title=The Real Allan Bloom|url=https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/weekly-standard/the-real-allan-bloom|journal=The Weekly Standard|volume=5|issue=32}}
• {{Cite book|last=Weinstein|first=Kenneth R.|title=Educating the prince: Essays in Honor of Harvey Mansfield|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|year=2000|isbn=978-0742508279|editor-last=Blitz|editor-first=Mark|location=Lanham|pages=91–99|chapter=’Hobbes,’ ‘Spinoza,’ and ‘Faustus Socinus’ in Pierre Bayle’s Historical and Critical Dictionary|editor-last2=Kristol|editor-first2=William}}
• {{Cite thesis|last=Weinstein|first=Kenneth Roy|title=Atheism and Enlightenment in the Political Philosophy of Pierre Bayle|date=1992|degree=Ph.D.|publisher=Harvard University|url=https://www.proquest.com/openview/5f8cfc1fd5611296a3feae4f8cc4b003/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y|url-access=subscription}}

{{reflist}}

• {{C-SPAN|43872}}
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lZ45ILkTEw Speech] introducing Henry Kissinger before 2015 Hudson Institute Global Leadership Award Dinner
• [https://www.hudson.org/research/14514-conservative-group-targeted-by-russians-speaks-to-cnn Interview] with Wolf Blitzer regarding Russian hacking attempts

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Weinstein, Kenneth R.}}

Category:American political writers

Category:American male non-fiction writers

Category:Stuyvesant High School alumni

Category:Harvard University alumni

Category:University of Chicago alumni

Category:Georgetown University faculty

Category:Living people

Category:20th-century American Jews

Category:American chief executives

Category:Hudson Institute

Category:Sciences Po alumni

Category:Claremont McKenna College faculty

Category:1961 births

Category:21st-century American Jews