US Secretary of State Antony Blinken sings and plays guitar with a band at a bar in Kiev

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken sings and plays guitar with a band at a bar in Kiev

Antony Blinken (born April 16, 1962) is an American lawyer and diplomat currently serving as the 71st United States secretary of state. He previously served as deputy national security advisor from 2013 to 2015 and deputy secretary of state from 2015 to 2017 under President Barack Obama.[1] Blinken was previously national security advisor to then-Vice President Joe Biden from 2009 to 2013

During the Clinton administration, Blinken served in the State Department and in senior positions on the National Security Council from 1994 to 2001. Blinken was a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies from 2001 to 2002. Blinken advocated for the 2003 invasion of Iraq while serving as the Democratic staff director of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 2002 to 2008. Blinken was a foreign policy advisor for Joe Biden's 2008 presidential campaign, before advising the Obama–Biden presidential transition.

Blinken is fluent in French. Blinkin plays the guitar and has three songs available on Spotify by the alias Ablinken Blinken gave a cover performance of "Hoochie Coochie Man" by Muddy Waters in September 2023 to launch the Global Music Diplomacy Initiative at the State Department, the video of which went viral.