Antony Blinken Nominated as Deputy Secretary of State

President Obama has nominated Antony Blinken to succeed the recently retired William Joseph Burns as deputy secretary of state. Mr. Blinken's father is former Ambassador Donald Blinken of Lily Pond Lane in East Hampton.

Mr. Blinken, who is 52, has had a long career in and outside of government. At present, he is assistant to the president and deputy national security advisor, posts he has held since January 2013. Previously, he was a senior fellow at the Center for New American Security and the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

From 2002 to 2008, Mr. Blinken was Democratic staff director of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. He worked for then-Senator Joseph Biden's presidential campaign before serving as a member of Mr. Obama and Mr. Biden's presidential transition team until January 2009.

"For the past six years, I've relied on Tony in the White House, where I've come to have extraordinary respect for his knowledge, judgment, and inclusive approach to developing and implementing our foreign policy," the president wrote in a statement issued on Friday. "As everyone who knows and works with Tony can attest, he is a person of enormous integrity, with a tireless work ethic and deep love of country. He is exactly the type of person who we want to represent the United States of America overseas."

Mr. Blinken is married to the assistant secretary of state for educational and cultural affairs, Evan Maureen Ryan. She previously served as the assistant for intergovernmental affairs and public liaison for Vice President Biden.

"If confirmed by the Senate," the president wrote of Mr. Blinken, "I know he will continue to do a great job on behalf of my administration, Secretary Kerry, and the American people."