Donald M. Blinken

Donald M. Blinken (U.S. Ambassador to Hungary, 1994-1997)

"Donald Blinken was sworn in as Ambassador to the Republic of Hungary by Vice President Al Gore on March 29, 1994.

"A native New Yorker, Mr. Blinken has had a career blending leadership in investment banking, education, and arts patronage. He co-founded the investment banking/venture capital firm of E.M. Warburg, Pincus & Co. in 1966 and served as chairman of the Board of Trustees of the State University of New York - the nation's largest institution of higher education - from 1978 to 1990. His arts-related responsibilities included the presidency of the Mark Rothko Foundation and the vice-chairmanship of the New York Philharmonic Symphony Society.

"Born in 1925, Mr. Blinken graduated magna cum laude in economics from Harvard in 1948. He joined the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1944. After 10 years in the retail business, including two in the United Kingdom with Marks & Spencer, he joined the investment firm of E.M. Warburg Pincus, the largest venture capital firm in the United States. He continued to be associated with Warburg, Pincus as a managing partner until taking up government service.

"In 1976 Governor Hugh L. Carey appointed him to the board of the State University of New York and subsequently named him chairman. He was re-appointed to that office by Governor Mario M. Cuomo. The State University of New York serves nearly 400,000 students on 64 campuses throughout New York. It awarded Mr. Blinken an honorary degree in 1993.

"In recent years, Mr. Blinken has also served as vice-chairman of the New York Philharmonic Symphony Society, as a member of the executive committee of the New York Public Library, as a board member and chairman of the Commentary Publication Committee, as a trustee of the Institute of International Education, as overseer of the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government, and as a member of the Trustees' Council of the National Gallery of Art.

"He is the author of a book on American trade policy and numerous articles on education and international affairs. Mr. Blinken is married to the Hungarian-born Vera Evans Blinken, a director of the International Rescue Committee. He has one son, Antony." 


 * Honorary Trustee, Institute of International Education
 * International Board, International Centre for Democratic Transition (accessed Sept 07)
 * Trustee, National Committee on American Foreign Policy