Kenneth R. Weinstein


Kenneth R. "Ken" Weinstein is the president and chief executive officer of the Hudson Institute, a conservative Washington-based policy research organization that, according to its website, is dedicated to promoting "American leadership and global engagement for a secure, free, and prosperous future". He oversees the institute's research, project management, external affairs, marketing, and government relations efforts. He is an expert on U.S. foreign policy and international affairs who comments on national and international affairs on television and in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, The Weekly Standard, Yomiuri Shimbun and Le Monde.
In September 2018, he was appointed to the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations by President Trump. On March 13, 2020, President Trump announced his intent to nominate Weinstein as the next U.S. Ambassador to Japan. On March 18, 2020, his nomination was sent to the United States Senate. His nomination is currently pending before the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.

Biography

Weinstein is a political theorist who received his Bachelor of Arts in general studies in the humanities from the University of Chicago, his Master of Philosophy in Soviet and Eastern European studies from the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris and his Doctor of Philosophy in political science from Harvard University. He grew up in New York City and attended Stuyvesant High School. He has taught at Claremont McKenna College and Georgetown University.
Weinstein has been decorated with a knighthood in Arts and Letters by the French Ministry of Culture and Communication as a Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. He is chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, the body that oversees U.S. civilian international media, including the Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia and Middle East Broadcasting. Weinstein previously was on the National Humanities Council, the governing body of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Married to Amy Kauffman, and the father of three, he lives in Washington, D.C. He is a member of Kesher Israel Synagogue.