Alan John Blinken

Alan J. Blinken is Chairman of the Board of Washington Center. He was Senior Advisor to Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld LLP from 1998-2001 and the United States Ambassador to Belgium from 1993-1998. Until his appointment as Ambassador, he was a Partner and Managing Director of Wertheim Schroder & Co., Inc. in New York City, a position that he had held since 1974. He was formerly President of Model Roland & Co., where he worked for 15 years. In addition, Ambassador Blinken was a Board member of the Center for National Policy, The International Crisis Group, the New York Foundation for Senior Citizens, and the African Medical and Research Foundation. Ambassador Blinken was a member of the New York State Economic Development Zone Commission and New York City Community Board 8. He also was the Founder and Chairman of the Women Gynecological Cancer Research Fund and a former Board member of the New York Public Library. In 1990, he was a candidate for the New York State Assembly and in 2002 a candidate for the US Senate in Idaho. Today, Ambassador Blinken serves on the Boards of UCB SA (Brussels), UCB Inc. (Atlanta), Sofina (Brussels) and the King Baudouin Foundation USA. He is Vice Chairman of the Americorps Foundation. Ambassador Blinken is a graduate of Harvard College. His wife, Melinda Koch Blinken, passed away in October 2021 at their home in Idaho. They have four children and eight grandchildren.