James Rubin
Encyclopedia
James Philip "Jamie" Rubin (born 1960 in New York City
) is a former diplomat and journalist. He is currently an executive editor at Bloomberg News. Having served in the State Department during the administration of President Bill Clinton
, he became a Sky News
television news journalist and commentator. He is married to former CNN
chief international correspondent and current anchor of ABC's This Week
Christiane Amanpour
. He is also an adjunct professor at Columbia University
's School of International and Public Affairs
.
with a BA
in political science
in 1982, and a Master of International Affairs
(MIA) in 1984 from Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs. At Columbia, Rubin was a student of Zalmay Khalilzad
, later U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan, Iraq and the United Nations under President George W. Bush. Rubin also attended Boston University
. Early in his career, he was the Assistant Director of Research at the Arms Control Association
.
and Chief Spokesman for the State Department from 1997 to May 2000. In the Clinton administration, he was considered Secretary Madeleine Albright
's right-hand man.
; a partner at communications consultancy Brunswick and – in 2002 and 2003 – the host of PBS
's Wide Angle series, a weekly international affairs program.
After serving as chief foreign policy spokesman for General Wesley Clark
's presidential campaign, Rubin worked for Democratic nominee John Kerry
, serving as a senior advisor for national security affairs.
In October 2005, Rubin became lead news anchor on World News Tonight on Sky News
. In July 2006, Sky News restructured its schedule and cancelled World News Tonight.
He is currently an executive editor at Bloomberg News.
When announced he would be joining Bloomberg, Rubin said:
winner and former First Minister of Northern Ireland as a "crankpot" for stating that Hillary Clinton's claim to have been "helpful" in the Northern Irish peace process was, "A wee bit silly". He also stated that Trimble's opinion was not important as he was 'a Protestant', and so 'traditionally conservative'.
In another interview, also on MSNBC, Rubin quoted the co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, John Hume
, as saying:
Later in the same interview, Rubin recounted a conversation he had with former US Senator and US Special Envoy to Northern Ireland George Mitchell:
"I also maintain my love for scootering around London", he added.
Jamie Rubin frequently brings quotes with him in the form of notes to reinforce his position during television interviews. During the 2008 campaign, he was a guest on CNN’s Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer in a foreign policy discussion with Susan Rice, who became Obama's nominee for Ambassador to the United Nations.
Recently, he wrote an article, published in the Washington Post, concerning the controversy which arose when it was perceived that Bush had criticized Obama during a foreign visit to Israel. Rubin accused John McCain
, who defended Bush, of "hypocrisy" as McCain had records of supporting dialogue with the Hamas in the past.
Many people mistakenly think is he is the son of former Treasury Secretary in the Clinton administration, Robert Rubin
, who also has a son known as Jamie.
James' sister Elizabeth Rubin is a journalist and staff writer for The New York Times Magazine
.
In 1998 Rubin, who at the time was spokesman for the US State Department, married Christiane Amanpour
, chief international correspondent for CNN. Their son, Darius John Rubin, was born in 2000.
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
) is a former diplomat and journalist. He is currently an executive editor at Bloomberg News. Having served in the State Department during the administration of President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
, he became a Sky News
Sky News
Sky News is a 24-hour British and international satellite television news broadcaster with an emphasis on UK and international news stories.The service places emphasis on rolling news, including the latest breaking news. Sky News also hosts localised versions of the channel in Australia and in New...
television news journalist and commentator. He is married to former CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
chief international correspondent and current anchor of ABC's This Week
This Week (ABC TV series)
This Week is ABC's Sunday morning political affairs program.The Sunday morning talk show has aired on Sunday mornings on ABC since 1981; the program is initially aired at 9:00 AM ET, although many stations air the program later, especially those in other time zones...
Christiane Amanpour
Christiane Amanpour
Christiane Amanpour, CBE is anchor of ABC News's This Week and formerly chief international correspondent at CNN, where she worked for 27 years. She is a Board Member at the IWMF .-Early years:...
. He is also an adjunct professor at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
's School of International and Public Affairs
School of International and Public Affairs
The School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University is one of the most prestigious graduate schools of public policy in the world. Located on Columbia's Morningside Heights campus in the Borough of Manhattan, in New York City, the School has 15,000 graduates in more than 150...
.
Education and early career
Rubin graduated from ColumbiaColumbia College of Columbia University
Columbia College is the oldest undergraduate college at Columbia University, situated on the university's main campus in Morningside Heights in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1754 by the Church of England as King's College, receiving a Royal Charter from King George II...
with a BA
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
in 1982, and a Master of International Affairs
Master of International Affairs
The Master of International Affairs is a Professional Master's degree. Through study of the diverse forces that have shaped modern institutions and the ways in which diverse forces project themselves into the international sphere, the Master of International Affairs degree attempts to equip...
(MIA) in 1984 from Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs. At Columbia, Rubin was a student of Zalmay Khalilzad
Zalmay Khalilzad
Zalmay Mamozy Khalilzad is a counselor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and president of Khalilzad Associates, an international business consulting firm based in Washington, DC. He was the United States Ambassador to the United Nations under President George W. Bush...
, later U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan, Iraq and the United Nations under President George W. Bush. Rubin also attended Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
. Early in his career, he was the Assistant Director of Research at the Arms Control Association
Arms Control Association
The Arms Control Association is a US-based national nonpartisan membership organization founded in 1971 with the self-stated mission of promoting public understanding of and support for effective arms control policies...
.
Clinton administration
He went on to serve under President Clinton as Assistant Secretary of State for Public AffairsAssistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs
The Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs is the head of the Bureau of Public Affairs within the United States Department of State. Typically, the Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs is also the official spokesperson of the State Department...
and Chief Spokesman for the State Department from 1997 to May 2000. In the Clinton administration, he was considered Secretary Madeleine Albright
Madeleine Albright
Madeleine Korbelová Albright is the first woman to become a United States Secretary of State. She was appointed by U.S. President Bill Clinton on December 5, 1996, and was unanimously confirmed by a U.S. Senate vote of 99–0...
's right-hand man.
Career in academia, politics and media
Since leaving government, Rubin has been a Visiting Professor of International Relations at the London School of EconomicsLondon School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
; a partner at communications consultancy Brunswick and – in 2002 and 2003 – the host of PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
's Wide Angle series, a weekly international affairs program.
After serving as chief foreign policy spokesman for General Wesley Clark
Wesley Clark
Wesley Kanne Clark, Sr., is a retired general of the United States Army. Graduating as valedictorian of the class of 1966 at West Point, he was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to the University of Oxford where he obtained a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics, and later graduated from the...
's presidential campaign, Rubin worked for Democratic nominee John Kerry
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
, serving as a senior advisor for national security affairs.
In October 2005, Rubin became lead news anchor on World News Tonight on Sky News
Sky News
Sky News is a 24-hour British and international satellite television news broadcaster with an emphasis on UK and international news stories.The service places emphasis on rolling news, including the latest breaking news. Sky News also hosts localised versions of the channel in Australia and in New...
. In July 2006, Sky News restructured its schedule and cancelled World News Tonight.
He is currently an executive editor at Bloomberg News.
Bloomberg
Rubin joined Bloomberg in January 2011 and oversees editorial issues of Bloomberg News in Central and South America, Mexico, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa. He also leads Bloomberg View, a Bloomberg op-ed project, with David Shipley.When announced he would be joining Bloomberg, Rubin said:
“I look forward to joining Bloomberg at a time when rational thought and commentary in the media is needed now more than ever before.”
Support for Hillary Clinton candidacy
Rubin was a member of Hillary Clinton's campaign team for the 2008 Democratic nomination. He caused some controversy when he described Lord Trimble the Nobel Peace PrizeNobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.-Background:According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who...
winner and former First Minister of Northern Ireland as a "crankpot" for stating that Hillary Clinton's claim to have been "helpful" in the Northern Irish peace process was, "A wee bit silly". He also stated that Trimble's opinion was not important as he was 'a Protestant', and so 'traditionally conservative'.
In another interview, also on MSNBC, Rubin quoted the co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, John Hume
John Hume
John Hume is a former Irish politician from Derry, Northern Ireland. He was a founding member of the Social Democratic and Labour Party, and was co-recipient of the 1998 Nobel Peace Prize, with David Trimble....
, as saying:
I am quite surprised that anyone would suggest that Hillary Clinton did not perform important work as first lady in the area of foreign policy. I can state from firsthand experience that she played a positive role for over a decade in helping to bring peace to Northern Ireland. She visited Northern Ireland, met with very many people and gave decisive support to the peace process.
Later in the same interview, Rubin recounted a conversation he had with former US Senator and US Special Envoy to Northern Ireland George Mitchell:
“And as it happens a week ago I was at a dinner with George Mitchell and asked him about this. And he said pretty much the same thing. I don’t understand why people are questioning this? I had a lot of experience with Hillary doing things that were helpful to me.”http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23576056/
"I also maintain my love for scootering around London", he added.
Jamie Rubin frequently brings quotes with him in the form of notes to reinforce his position during television interviews. During the 2008 campaign, he was a guest on CNN’s Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer in a foreign policy discussion with Susan Rice, who became Obama's nominee for Ambassador to the United Nations.
Recently, he wrote an article, published in the Washington Post, concerning the controversy which arose when it was perceived that Bush had criticized Obama during a foreign visit to Israel. Rubin accused John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
, who defended Bush, of "hypocrisy" as McCain had records of supporting dialogue with the Hamas in the past.
Personal life
He is the son of publisher Harvey Rubin and his wife Judith.Many people mistakenly think is he is the son of former Treasury Secretary in the Clinton administration, Robert Rubin
Robert Rubin
Robert Edward Rubin served as the 70th United States Secretary of the Treasury during both the first and second Clinton administrations. Before his government service, he spent 26 years at Goldman Sachs eventually serving as a member of the Board, and Co-Chairman from 1990-1992...
, who also has a son known as Jamie.
James' sister Elizabeth Rubin is a journalist and staff writer for The New York Times Magazine
The New York Times Magazine
The New York Times Magazine is a Sunday magazine supplement included with the Sunday edition of The New York Times. It is host to feature articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors...
.
In 1998 Rubin, who at the time was spokesman for the US State Department, married Christiane Amanpour
Christiane Amanpour
Christiane Amanpour, CBE is anchor of ABC News's This Week and formerly chief international correspondent at CNN, where she worked for 27 years. She is a Board Member at the IWMF .-Early years:...
, chief international correspondent for CNN. Their son, Darius John Rubin, was born in 2000.
External links
- Official PBS Wideangle website
- Clinton aide slurs David Trimble as a "crankpot" BBC
- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/23812866#23812866
- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23576056/
- http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2008/04/27/campaign.foreign.policy.cnn
- NYT, Jackie Calmes, Rubinomics Recalculated, November 23, 2008.