Lee A. Feinstein
Encyclopedia
Lee Andrew Feinstein is the current United States Ambassador to Poland
.
, from which he holds a J.D.
He also holds a Master of Arts
in political science
from the City University of New York
.
in Washington
from 1989 to 1994 before joining the Clinton administration
in February 1994. Feinstein was Senior Advisor for Peacekeeping and Peace Enforcement Policy in the Office of the Secretary of Defense
from 1994 to 1995 at the Department of Defense
before joining the Department of State
, where he served as Principal Deputy Director and Member of the Policy Planning Staff
from 1995 to 2001.
Feinstein joined the Carnegie Endowment Non-Proliferation Project as a visiting scholar in April 2001. He worked at the Council on Foreign Relations
as Deputy Director of Studies, Senior Fellow for Foreign Policy and International Law, and Executive Director of the Task Force Program from 2002 to 2007. At the Council on Foreign Relations Feinstein served as co-director of the nonpartisan Enhancing U.S. Leadership at the United Nations Independent Task Force.
Feinstein was also an advisor to the congressionally mandated Task Force on the United Nations, chaired by former Speaker of the House
Newt Gingrich
and former Senator
George J. Mitchell
, now Special Envoy for Middle East Peace.
In 2008, Feinstein joined the Brookings Institution
as Visiting Fellow in Foreign Policy Studies. From 2007 to 2008 he was national security director for the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign
and was later an outside foreign policy advisor to the Barack Obama campaign
.
Feinstein went on leave from the Brookings Institution in 2009 to become Senior Advisor in the Office of the Secretary under Secretary Clinton in the new administration of President
Barack Obama
.
On July 17, 2009, President Obama announced that he intended to nominate Feinstein as Ambassador to Poland.
Feinstein's appointment was notable in that he is viewed as a Clinton loyalist, and the Foreign Policy
blog had earlier speculated the post would go to Obama advisor Mark Brzezinski
.
Feinstein was formally nominated on July 20, 2009 and was confirmed
by the Senate
on September 22, 2009 by unanimous consent
. On October 20, 2009, Ambassador Feinstein presented his credentials
to the President of Poland, Lech Kaczyński
.
Feinstein has written extensively. He is the author of Darfur and Beyond: What is Needed to Prevent Mass Atrocities, which was featured in CFR’s Emmy Award-winning multimedia Crisis Guide-Darfur and a co-author of Means to an End: U.S. Interest in the International Criminal Court, published by the Brookings Institution Press in 2009.
. They have two children.
United States Ambassador to Poland
The history of Ambassadors of the United States to Poland began in 1919.Until the end of the Great War, Poland had been partitioned between Russia, Germany, and Austria-Hungary. After the war and the collapse of the empires, Poland became an independent republic in 1918.The United States recognized...
.
Early life and education
Feinstein graduated from Georgetown University Law CenterGeorgetown University Law Center
Georgetown University Law Center is the law school of Georgetown University, located in Washington, D.C.. Established in 1870, the Law Center offers J.D., LL.M., and S.J.D. degrees in law...
, from which he holds a J.D.
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
He also holds a Master of Arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
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...
from the City University of New York
City University of New York
The City University of New York is the public university system of New York City, with its administrative offices in Yorkville in Manhattan. It is the largest urban university in the United States, consisting of 23 institutions: 11 senior colleges, six community colleges, the William E...
.
Career
Feinstein was Assistant Director for Research at the Arms Control AssociationArms 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...
in Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
from 1989 to 1994 before joining the Clinton administration
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...
in February 1994. Feinstein was Senior Advisor for Peacekeeping and Peace Enforcement Policy in the Office of the Secretary of Defense
Office of the Secretary of Defense
The Office of the Secretary of Defense is a headquarters-level staff of the Department of Defense of the United States of America. It is the principal civilian staff element of the Secretary of Defense, and it assists the Secretary in carrying out authority, direction and control of the Department...
from 1994 to 1995 at the Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
before joining the Department of State
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
, where he served as Principal Deputy Director and Member of the Policy Planning Staff
Policy Planning Staff
The Policy Planning Staff is the chief strategic arm of the United States Department of State. It was created in 1947 by renowned Foreign Service Officer George F...
from 1995 to 2001.
Feinstein joined the Carnegie Endowment Non-Proliferation Project as a visiting scholar in April 2001. He worked at the Council on Foreign Relations
Council on Foreign Relations
The Council on Foreign Relations is an American nonprofit nonpartisan membership organization, publisher, and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international affairs...
as Deputy Director of Studies, Senior Fellow for Foreign Policy and International Law, and Executive Director of the Task Force Program from 2002 to 2007. At the Council on Foreign Relations Feinstein served as co-director of the nonpartisan Enhancing U.S. Leadership at the United Nations Independent Task Force.
Feinstein was also an advisor to the congressionally mandated Task Force on the United Nations, chaired by former Speaker of the House
Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
The Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, or Speaker of the House, is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives...
Newt Gingrich
Newt Gingrich
Newton Leroy "Newt" Gingrich is a U.S. Republican Party politician who served as the House Minority Whip from 1989 to 1995 and as the 58th Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999....
and former Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
George J. Mitchell
George J. Mitchell
George John Mitchell, Jr., is the former U.S. Special Envoy for Middle East Peace under the Obama administration. A Democrat, Mitchell was a United States Senator who served as the Senate Majority Leader from 1989 to 1995...
, now Special Envoy for Middle East Peace.
In 2008, Feinstein joined the Brookings Institution
Brookings Institution
The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, D.C., in the United States. One of Washington's oldest think tanks, Brookings conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics, metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, and...
as Visiting Fellow in Foreign Policy Studies. From 2007 to 2008 he was national security director for the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign
Hillary Clinton presidential campaign, 2008
New York junior Senator and former First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton had expressed interest in the 2008 United States presidential election since at least October 2002, drawing media speculation on whether she would become a candidate. No woman has ever won the nomination of a major party in the...
and was later an outside foreign policy advisor to the Barack Obama campaign
Barack Obama presidential campaign, 2008
Barack Obama, then junior United States Senator from Illinois, announced his candidacy for the presidency of the United States in Springfield, Illinois, on February 10, 2007. On August 27, 2008, he was declared nominee of the Democratic Party for the 2008 presidential election...
.
Feinstein went on leave from the Brookings Institution in 2009 to become Senior Advisor in the Office of the Secretary under Secretary Clinton in the new administration of President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
.
On July 17, 2009, President Obama announced that he intended to nominate Feinstein as Ambassador to Poland.
Feinstein's appointment was notable in that he is viewed as a Clinton loyalist, and the Foreign Policy
Foreign Policy
Foreign Policy is a bimonthly American magazine founded in 1970 by Samuel P. Huntington and Warren Demian Manshel.Originally, the magazine was a quarterly...
blog had earlier speculated the post would go to Obama advisor Mark Brzezinski
Mark Brzezinski
Mark Francis Brzezinski is an American lawyer, diplomat, and foreign policy expert who has been confirmed as Ambassador to Sweden by the United States Senate. He is the son of Polish-born former National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski and the grandson of Polish diplomat Tadeusz Brzeziński...
.
Feinstein was formally nominated on July 20, 2009 and was confirmed
Advice and consent
Advice and consent is an English phrase frequently used in enacting formulae of bills and in other legal or constitutional contexts, describing a situation in which the executive branch of a government enacts something previously approved of by the legislative branch.-General:The expression is...
by the Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
on September 22, 2009 by unanimous consent
Unanimous consent
In parliamentary procedure, unanimous consent, also known as general consent, or in the case of the parliaments under the Westminster system, leave of the house, is a situation in which no one present objects to a proposal. The chair may state, for instance: "If there is no objection, the motion...
. On October 20, 2009, Ambassador Feinstein presented his credentials
Letter of Credence
A letter of credence is a formal letter usually sent by one head of state to another that formally grants diplomatic accreditation to a named individual to be their ambassador in the country of the head of state receiving the letter...
to the President of Poland, Lech Kaczyński
Lech Kaczynski
Lech Aleksander Kaczyński was Polish lawyer and politician who served as the President of Poland from 2005 until 2010 and as Mayor of Warsaw from 2002 until 22 December 2005. Before he became a president, he was also a member of the party Prawo i Sprawiedliwość...
.
Feinstein has written extensively. He is the author of Darfur and Beyond: What is Needed to Prevent Mass Atrocities, which was featured in CFR’s Emmy Award-winning multimedia Crisis Guide-Darfur and a co-author of Means to an End: U.S. Interest in the International Criminal Court, published by the Brookings Institution Press in 2009.
Personal life
Feinstein is married to Elaine Margaret Monaghan, a journalistJournalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
. They have two children.
External links
- Profile from the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw
- Statement of Lee Feinstein, September 15, 2009, Senate Foreign Relations Committee - Confirmation hearing