Mark Gitenstein

Mark Gitenstein
United States Ambassador to the European Union
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 24, 2022
PresidentJoe Biden
Preceded byGordon Sondland
United States Ambassador to Romania
In office
August 28, 2009 – December 14, 2012
PresidentBarack Obama
Preceded byNicholas Taubman
Succeeded byDuane Butcher
Personal details
Born (1946-03-07) March 7, 1946 (age 78)
Montgomery, Alabama, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
EducationDuke University (BA)
Georgetown University (JD)

Mark Henry Gitenstein (born March 7, 1947) is an American lawyer and diplomat who is serving as the United States ambassador to the European Union since 2022. He was nominated by President Joe Biden on July 27, 2021,[1] and confirmed by the United States Senate on December 18, 2021. He formerly served as the United States ambassador to Romania from 2009 to 2012; he was nominated by President Barack Obama on June 11, 2009[2] and confirmed by the Senate on July 8, 2009.[3]

Early life and education

Gitenstein is of Romanian Jewish heritage, as his grandparents were immigrants from Botoșani, Romania in the late-19th century.[4][5][6] He attended the Indian Springs School, graduating in 1964.[7] He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Duke University and a Juris Doctor from the Georgetown Law School.

Career

Gitenstein served as chief counsel (1987–1989) and minority chief counsel (1981–1987) to the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, serving under then-Senator Joe Biden. Gitenstein also served as counsel to the United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (1975–1978).[8]

He became a partner at Mayer Brown in 1989 and was a "nonresident senior fellow" at the Brookings Institution.[8][9] He is the author of Matters of Principle, a non-fiction book about the Robert Bork Supreme Court nomination, for which he was awarded the American Bar Association's Silver Gavel award. He has been selected by his peers several times for inclusion in "Best Lawyers in America".[10]

He was also on the advisory board for President-elect Barack Obama's presidential transition team.[11]

Ambassador to Romania

In 2009 Gitenstein was nominated for the post of U.S. Ambassador to Romania.[12] The Romanian English-language news daily Nine O'Clock selected Ambassador Gitenstein as "The Foreign Diplomat of the Year for 2011."[13] Gitenstein worked to strengthen relations with Romania on a variety of issues, focusing on fighting corruption, improving transparency, and strengthening the rule of law.[14][15][16] He actively promoted deeper development of Romania's equity markets, as well as a fair and transparent business environment for all investors.[17][18] He also encouraged greater private sector involvement in state-owned enterprises (SOEs), including the introduction of a corporate governance code for SOEs.[19] As a means of promoting social change, Gitenstein worked with TechSoup Romania to establish Restart Romania, a project designed to demonstrate the power of the internet and social media to find solutions to social justice problems, support transparency of public institutions, and promote grass roots efforts to fight corruption.[20][21] The U.S.–Romanian Ballistic Missile Defense Agreement was signed and negotiated during Gitenstein's tenure in Bucharest.[22] Gitenstein travelled to Afghanistan three times to visit U.S. and Romanian troops.[23][24] He was a human rights advocate for the country's minority Roma population.[25][26] He was awarded the Star of Romania, the country's highest civilian honor, in 2012.

Biden administration

Gitenstein greets President Joe Biden at the European Council Headquarters in Brussels on March 24, 2022

On September 5, 2020, Gitenstein was announced to be a member of the advisory council of the Biden-Harris Transition Team.[27][28]

Ambassador to the EU

On July 27, 2021, President Joe Biden announced the nomination of Gitenstein to be the United States ambassador to the European Union.[29] His nomination was sent to the Senate the following day.[30] On September 28, 2021, a hearing on his nomination was held before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.[31] On October 19, 2021, his nomination was reported favorably out of committee.[32] The United States Senate confirmed him on December 18, 2021 by voice vote. Gitenstein presented his credentials to the European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen on January 24, 2022.[33]

As Ambassador, Gitenstein has highlighted the critical role of free media as a safeguard against democratic regression, advocating for increased action and financial support in this domain. He established innovative frameworks to unite civil society leaders, financial experts, philanthropists, and successful media organizations, formulating policy recommendations for the European Commission to utilize blended-finance equity investments to strengthen independent and pluralistic media ecosystems in the region. Acknowledging that international capital and EU policy initiatives alone are insufficient to sustain pluralistic media markets in Central and Eastern Europe, Gitenstein organized media investor forums within local markets to foster domestic engagement, expand financing mechanisms, and enhance trust and accountability in local media institutions.[34] [35]

Personal life

He is married to Elizabeth (Libby) Gitenstein and has three children and seven grandchildren.[36]

Honors

See also

  • Mark H. Gitenstein (March 31, 2011). "Building Equity Markets and Reforming Energy Markets in Romania". Archived from the original on February 16, 2013.
  • "Ambassador's Blog".

References

  1. ^ "President Biden Announces Nine Key Nominations". The White House. July 27, 2021. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
  2. ^ "Officially In: Mark Gitenstein to Bucharest". Retrieved July 25, 2009.
  3. ^ "Mark Gitenstein, Confirmed as US Ambassador to Romania". Retrieved July 25, 2009.
  4. ^ Ambasadorul SUA la București s-a recules la mormintele străbunicilor din Botoșani
  5. ^ "U.S. Nominated Ambassador To Romania To Focus On Corruption, International Adoptions". www.mediafax.ro. Retrieved July 8, 2009.
  6. ^ "Mark Gitenstein: Biography". Archived from the original on October 17, 2009. Retrieved May 16, 2009.
  7. ^ "Alumni Tour to Romania". Archived from the original on July 26, 2011. Retrieved September 4, 2010.
  8. ^ a b "Mayer Brown – Mark H. Gitenstein". Archived from the original on June 3, 2009. Retrieved November 27, 2008.
  9. ^ "Contributors". Archived from the original on October 26, 2010.
  10. ^ Mark Gitenstein speaker profile http://www.microsoft.com/romania/diversity/wlc/speakers.aspx
  11. ^ "Obama Names Transition Team". Archived from the original on December 8, 2008. Retrieved November 6, 2008.
  12. ^ Jones, Ashby (November 9, 2009). "From Mayer Brown to Bucharest: A Chat with Mark Gitenstein". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
  13. ^ "Nine O'clock handed out "the Persons of the Year 2011" Awards". Nine O'clock. January 26, 2012. Retrieved August 19, 2012.
  14. ^ V.O. (July 3, 2012). "U.S. Ambassador to Romania says he is "concerned about any attempt to threaten" independence of Romania's democratic institutions". HotNews. Retrieved August 19, 2012.
  15. ^ Monica Apostol (January 25, 2012). "Gitenstein: "Profits of state companies are diverted towards well-connected individuals". Nine O'clock. Retrieved August 21, 2012.
  16. ^ Miruna Badea (July 21, 2011). "Ambasadorul SUA la București: Salut raportul MCV, împărtăşesc îngrijorările CE legate de imunitate şi prescripţie". Gandul. Retrieved August 21, 2012.
  17. ^ "US Ambassador Gitenstein: Romania needs EUR 10 bln of energy investments, privatizations on stock market". Romania Insider. March 31, 2012. Archived from the original on June 4, 2011. Retrieved August 21, 2012.
  18. ^ I.R. (April 10, 2012). "Mark Gitenstein: Daca 90% dintre romani nu cred in sistemul de achizitii publice, de ce ar face-o investitorii americani?". HotNews. Retrieved August 21, 2012.
  19. ^ "Ambasadorul SUA: Guvernul roman foloseste companiile de stat ca pusculite". ProTV. Retrieved August 21, 2012.
  20. ^ Daniel Ben-Horin (December 1, 2012). "Beyond The Easter Bunny: Ambassador Sparks Open Government Web Challenge". Huffington Post. Retrieved August 21, 2012.
  21. ^ R.M. (June 26, 2012). "Mark Gitenstein: Daca abordati in Romania nesanctionarea parcarilor ilegale puteti incepe sa rezolvati problema coruptiei". Retrieved August 22, 2012.
  22. ^ "Cronologie: Acordul privind scutul ar putea fi semnat în timpul vizitei americane a preşedintelui Băsescu". Mediafax. September 10, 2012. Retrieved August 22, 2012.
  23. ^ "President Traian Basescu Goes To Afghanistan To Meet With Romanian Troops". Mediafax. November 30, 2010. Retrieved August 22, 2012.
  24. ^ "Ambassador Gitenstein Travels to Afghanistan". Archived from the original on October 15, 2011. Retrieved August 23, 2012.
  25. ^ "Ambasada SUA, îngrijorată de situaţia romilor din Baia Mare". Realitatea TV. June 6, 2012. Archived from the original on August 11, 2012. Retrieved August 22, 2012.
  26. ^ Stefania Avram (September 19, 2012). "Ambasadorul SUA in Romania a vizitat pungile de saracie din Baia Mare". Informatia zilei. Retrieved August 23, 2012.
  27. ^ "Cindy McCain Joins Biden-Harris Transition Team's Advisory Board". President-Elect Joe Biden. September 28, 2020. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
  28. ^ "Biden Transition Organization – Staff, Advisors". www.democracyinaction.us. November 9, 2017. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
  29. ^ "President Biden Announces Nine Key Nominations" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: The White House. July 27, 2021. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  30. ^ "Nominations Sent to the Senate" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: The White House. July 28, 2021. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  31. ^ "PN934 - Nomination of Mark Gitenstein for Department of State, 117th Congress (2021-2022)". www.congress.gov. October 19, 2021. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
  32. ^ "SFRC APPROVES 33 CRITICAL FOREIGN POLICY NOMINATIONS" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. October 19, 2021. Retrieved November 9, 2021.
  33. ^ von der Leyen, Ursula [@@vonderleyen] (January 24, 2022). "I'm very happy to receive the credentials of the new US ambassador to the EU, Mark Gitenstein" (Tweet). Retrieved January 26, 2022 – via Twitter.
  34. ^ https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/u-s-ambassador-to-eu-champions-free-independent-press/
  35. ^ https://useu.usmission.gov/two-years-of-transatlantic-cooperation-on-media-freedom-achievements/
  36. ^ "Biography of Ambassador Mark H. Gitenstein". Archived from the original on May 27, 2010. Retrieved September 5, 2010.
  37. ^ "Casa Majestății Sale".
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by United States Ambassador to Romania
2009–2012 		Succeeded by
Preceded by United States Ambassador to the European Union
2022–present 		Incumbent