Kenneth R. Weinstein

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Kenneth R. Weinstein Kenneth Weinstein.jpg
Kenneth R. Weinstein

Kenneth R. Weinstein (born November 4, 1961) is Japan Chair at Hudson Institute, a conservative Washington-based think tank. [1] Weinstein is also CEO, as well as co-founder with the late Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, of the Indo-Pacific Forum, an international, not-for-profit organization dedicated to furthering Abe's vision of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific to collaborate on strategy, construct partnerships, and shape inclusive, sustainable policies and concrete initiatives for the security resilience, and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific region. [2]

Contents

Weinstein led Hudson Institute as CEO from 2005 to 2021 and was both President and CEO during the last ten years as CEO. [3] From 2019-2023, he was also the Walter P. Stern Distinguished Fellow. Weinstein is an expert on U.S. foreign policy and international affairs and regularly briefs world leaders on current developments. He has commented extensively on national and international affairs on television and in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, [4] [5] the Yomiuri Shimbun , and Le Monde.

In September 2025, he was named the ombudsman for CBS News. [6]

Career

Weinstein began his career as a researcher at Hudson Institute, before taking positions at the New Citizenship Project, the Shalem Center and the Heritage Foundation. [7] He rejoined Hudson in 1999, serving as director of Hudson's Washington office and its COO before taking over as CEO in 2005. Under Weinstein's leadership, Hudson Institute grew significantly in size and impact, building ties to elected and appointed officials on both sides of the aisle in the US and around the world, becoming one of Washington's most influential think tanks. During his tenure as President and CEO, Hudson nearly tripled its annual budget to $20 million and quintupled its endowment to $60 million. [8] [9] Among the many noted experts Weinstein recruited to Hudson are Walter Russell Mead, Michael Pillsbury, H. R. McMaster, Elaine Chao, Nadia Schadlow, Patrick Cronin [10] and Christopher DeMuth.

In addition to his work at Hudson Institute, Weinstein was nominated by President George W. Bush and confirmed by the US Senate in 2006 to serve on the National Council for the Humanities, the board which oversees the National Endowment for the Humanities. [11] [12] In 2013, he was nominated by President Obama to serve on the Broadcasting Board of Governors (now the U.S. Agency for Global Media), the agency which oversees Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, and other government broadcasting programs. [7] Weinstein was later elected by his fellow governors as chairman of the BBG in 2017, a position in which he served until 2020. [13] In September 2018, he was appointed to the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations by President Donald Trump. [14] [15]

Nomination as U.S. Ambassador to Japan

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe introduced by Weinstein at grand opening of Hudson Institute's Betsy and Walter Stern Policy Center, Washington, DC, April 2016 Ken Weinstein and Shinzo Abe.jpg
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe introduced by Weinstein at grand opening of Hudson Institute's Betsy and Walter Stern Policy Center, Washington, DC, April 2016
Weinstein with Edgars Rinkevics Kenneth Weinstein and Edgars Rinkevics 25288827041.jpg
Weinstein with Edgars Rinkēvičs

On March 13, 2020, President Donald Trump announced his intent to nominate Weinstein as the next U.S. Ambassador to Japan. [16] Given Weinstein's policy expertise, his nomination received strong bipartisan support, including from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, [17] former Vice Presidents Walter Mondale and Dan Quayle, former Directors of National Intelligence Dan Coats and Dennis Blair, and former UN ambassador Nikki Haley, as well as noted Asia policy experts Kurt Campbell, Michael Green, and Joseph Nye. [18] Weinstein was introduced at his Senate Foreign Relations Committee nomination hearing by former Senator Joseph Lieberman, who noted Weinstein "has developed not only a great knowledge of [the] U.S.–Japanese relationship, but very deep friendships and trusting relationships within Japan, both in the government and in the business community." [19] Weinstein's testimony focused on the strategic convergence between the U.S. and Japan in the Abe-Trump era, and on the need for increased defense and technological cooperation to meet the challenge posed by the People's Republic of China. [20] [21]

Weinstein received unanimous support from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which voted him out of committee on September 22, 2020. [22] Following the committee vote, Weinstein was praised by Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato for having "built personal connections with a wide range of Japanese stakeholders, both public and private," noting, "I expect his official appointment will greatly contribute to the even further development of U.S.–Japan relations." [23] Due to debate in the Senate over Ruth Bader Ginsburg's replacement on the Supreme Court, and the November 2020 election, no non-career nominee for a U.S. ambassadorship was able to be confirmed in the fall of 2020. Weinstein's nomination lapsed at the end of the 116th Congress. [24]

Personal life

Weinstein is a political theorist who received his Bachelor of Arts in General Studies in the Humanities from the University of Chicago, [25] 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 Rego Park, Queens and attended Stuyvesant High School. He has taught at Claremont McKenna College and Georgetown University.

Weinstein speaks fluent French and German and has done live, prime time television programs in France [26] and Germany [27] . He was 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 and received the Japanese Foreign Minister’s Commendation for “extraordinary contributions to Japanese-US relations.” [28]

Married to Amy Kauffman since 1996, Weinstein is a father and grandfather who lives in Washington, D.C. He is a member of Kesher Israel Synagogue. [29]

Selected publications

References

  1. ↑ "Kenneth R. Weinstein | Hudson Institute". www.hudson.org. 2025-08-15. Retrieved 2025-09-06.
  2. ↑ "Dr. Kenneth R. Weinstein". Indo Pacific Forum. Retrieved 2025-09-06.
  3. ↑ "Experts – Kenneth R. Weinstein". www.hudson.org. Retrieved 2021-06-09.
  4. ↑ Weinstein, Kenneth R. (2015-02-24). "A French Lesson for American Liberals". Wall Street Journal. ISSN   0099-9660 . Retrieved 2018-05-09.
  5. ↑ Weinstein, Kenneth R. (2013-04-01). "Venus and Mars Revisited". Wall Street Journal. ISSN   0099-9660 . Retrieved 2018-05-09.
  6. ↑ "CBS Taps Conservative Policy Veteran for New Ombudsman Role". 2025-09-08. Retrieved 2025-09-09.
  7. 1 2 "President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts". whitehouse.gov. 2013-07-30. Retrieved 2021-06-21.
  8. ↑ "Experts – Kenneth R. Weinstein". www.hudson.org. Retrieved 2021-06-21.
  9. ↑ Nichols, Hans (31 December 2020). "John Walters to lead Hudson Institute". Axios. Retrieved 2021-06-21.
  10. ↑ "Experts – Patrick M. Cronin". www.hudson.org. Retrieved 2021-06-21.
  11. ↑ "PN1699 – Nomination of Kenneth R. Weinstein for National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities, 109th Congress (2005–2006)". www.congress.gov. 2006-08-03. Retrieved 2021-06-21.
  12. ↑ "New Members Join Humanities Endowment's National Council". The National Endowment for the Humanities. Retrieved 2021-06-21.
  13. ↑ "Kenneth Weinstein". USAGM. Retrieved 2021-06-21.
  14. ↑ "President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Appoint Personnel to Key Administration Posts". whitehouse.gov . 25 September 2018. Retrieved 7 February 2020– via National Archives.
  15. ↑ "Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations (ACTPN)". Office of the United States Trade Representative. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
  16. ↑ "President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate the Following Individual to a Key Administration Post". whitehouse.gov . 13 March 2020. Retrieved 14 March 2020– via National Archives.
  17. ↑ "U.S. Chamber Letter on the Nomination of Dr. Kenneth Weinstein to be Ambassador to Japan". U.S. Chamber of Commerce. 2020-08-03. Archived from the original on 2021-07-27. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
  18. ↑ "Weinstein Support Letter" (PDF).
  19. ↑ Weiss, Melissa (2020-08-06). "In Senate hearing, Ken Weinstein gets a boost from Joe Lieberman". Jewish Insider. Retrieved 2021-06-09.
  20. ↑ "Weinstein Nomination Hearing Testimony" (PDF).
  21. ↑ Tanaka, Miya. "U.S. envoy to Japan nominee wants Japan to take bigger alliance role". Kyodo News. Retrieved 2021-06-09.
  22. ↑ "Business Meeting | United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations". www.foreign.senate.gov. 22 September 2020. Retrieved 2021-06-09.
  23. ↑ "Trump's nominee for U.S. ambassador to Japan passes key hurdle". The Japan Times. 2020-09-23. Retrieved 2021-06-09.
  24. ↑ "PN1711 – Nomination of Kenneth R. Weinstein for Department of State, 116th Congress (2019–2020)". www.congress.gov. 2021-01-03. Retrieved 2021-06-09.
  25. ↑ Weinstein, Kenneth; Li, Hansong (April 17, 2017). "An Alumnus' Journey from Imagined Principalities to the Real Republic A Conversation with Kenneth Weinstein, AB '84" (PDF). Midway Review (2): 41–50. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
  26. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCF-UzF3ZOk
  27. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/reel/DFCct3yP3pH/?hl=en
  28. ↑ https://www.us.emb-japan.go.jp/itpr_en/foreign-minister-commendations-2022-weinstein.html
  29. ↑ Lerer, Lisa (September 21, 2007). "Yom Kippur marks D.C. networking bonanza". Politico.
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