Jonathan Finer
Jon Finer | |
---|---|
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33rd United States Deputy National Security Advisor | |
Assumed office January 20, 2021 | |
President | Joe Biden |
Preceded by | Matthew Pottinger |
Director of Policy Planning | |
In office March 7, 2016 – January 20, 2017 | |
President | Barack Obama |
Preceded by | David McKean |
Succeeded by | Brian H. Hook |
Chief of Staff to the United States Secretary of State | |
In office March 8, 2015 – January 20, 2017 | |
President | Barack Obama |
Secretary | John Kerry |
Preceded by | David Wade |
Succeeded by | Margaret Peterlin |
Personal details | |
Born | 1976 (age 44–45) Norwich, Vermont, U.S. |
Political party | Democratic |
Education | Harvard University (BA) Balliol College, Oxford (MPhil) Yale University (JD) |
Jonathan Finer (born 1976) is an American journalist and diplomat who serves as Deputy National Security Advisor under National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, in the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden.[1] He previously served as the Chief of Staff and Director of Policy Planning for former Secretary John Kerry at the U.S. Department of State.[2][3]
Early life and education[]
Finer is a native of Norwich, Vermont, the eldest of four children born to Susan (née Burack) and Chad Finer.[4][5][6] His mother was the principal of the Frances C. Richmond School and his father a doctor.[4] Finer graduated from Hanover High School in Hanover, New Hampshire. He attended Harvard University where he developed an interest in international relations after spending time working for the Labour Party in the UK.[2] While at Harvard, he covered sports for The Harvard Crimson.[7] He earned a Juris Doctor from Yale Law School, where he co-founded the Iraqi Refugee Assistance Project; an M.Phil. in international relations from Balliol College, Oxford, where he was a Rhodes Scholar.[4] Finer also spent a year in Hong Kong as a Henry Luce Foundation Scholar, working as a reporter and editor at the Far Eastern Economic Review.[8]
Career[]
Finer was a foreign and national correspondent at the Washington Post, where he reported from more than 20 countries and spent 18 months covering the war in Iraq, embedding with the U.S. Marines during the 2003 invasion and based in Baghdad in 2005-2006. He also covered conflicts in Gaza (2009), Russia/Georgia (2008) and Israel/Lebanon (2006); the 2004 U.S. Presidential campaign; and the 2004 Major League Baseball playoffs.[2]
Finer joined the Obama Administration in 2009 as a White House Fellow, assigned to the Office of the White House Chief of Staff and the National Security Council Staff.[9]At the White House, he also served as Special Advisor for the Middle East and North Africa and Foreign Policy Speechwriter for Vice President Joseph R. Biden and later as Senior Advisor to Deputy National Security Advisor Antony Blinken.[2] [10]
Prior to his appointment as Chief of Staff and Director of Policy Planning at the State Department, Finer previously served as Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy.[2][3]
After concluding his work with the State Department, Finer joined the New York private equity firm Warburg Pincus[11][12] and served as a senior fellow for U.S. foreign policy at the Council on Foreign Relations.[13]
References[]
- ^ "Biden to tap more Obama vets to fill key national security roles". POLITICO. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e "Jonathan Finer". U.S. Department of State. March 8, 2015. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
- ^ a b Hudson, John (December 18, 2015). "Inside Kerry's Leadership Changes for 2016". Foreign Policy. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
- ^ a b c Lilienthal, Mark (March 14, 2016). "Profile: Norwich Native Jon Finer Is 'Never Off the Clock' at the State Department". Valley News.
- ^ "Sylvia Burack". The Boston Globe. February 15, 2003.
- ^ "Beatrice (Finer) (Spigel) Cutter". The Boston Globe. January 2, 2011.
- ^ "Jonathan Finer". thecrimson.com. The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
- ^ Office of the Press Secretary (June 25, 2009). "President Obama Appoints 2009-2010 Class of White House Fellows, 6-25-09". The White House. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
- ^ Kirk, Michael (June 15, 2017). "The Frontline Interview: Jon Finer". FRONTLINE. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
- ^ Finer, Jon. "Jon Finer". Foreign Policy. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
- ^ Staff (2019). "Jonathan Finer". Warburg Pincus. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
- ^ "Jon Finer". Foreign Policy for America. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
- ^ Heil, Emily (May 1, 2019). "Charlize Theron and Seth Rogen are in a political rom-com. This guy helped them get Washington right — kind of". The New York Times. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
- 1976 births
- 21st-century American journalists
- American diplomats
- Directors of Policy Planning
- Harvard University alumni
- Living people
- People from Norwich, Vermont
- The Washington Post journalists
- United States Department of State officials
- United States Deputy National Security Advisors
- Washington, D.C. Democrats
- Yale Law School alumni