Anthony Lake facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Anthony Lake
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Lake in 2010
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| 6th Executive Director of UNICEF | |
| In office April 30, 2010 – December 31, 2017 |
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| Secretary General | |
| Preceded by | Ann Veneman |
| Succeeded by | Henrietta H. Fore |
| 17th United States National Security Advisor | |
| In office January 20, 1993 – March 14, 1997 |
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| President | Bill Clinton |
| Deputy | Sandy Berger |
| Preceded by | Brent Scowcroft |
| Succeeded by | Sandy Berger |
| 11th Director of Policy Planning | |
| In office January 21, 1977 – January 20, 1981 |
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| President | Jimmy Carter |
| Preceded by | Winston Lord |
| Succeeded by | Paul Wolfowitz |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
William Anthony Kirsopp Lake
April 2, 1939 New York City, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouses |
Antonia Plehn
(m. 1962; div. 1995)Julie Katzman
(m. 2005) |
| Children | 3 |
| Relatives | Kirsopp Lake (grandfather) |
| Education | |
William Anthony Kirsopp Lake, born on April 2, 1939, is an American diplomat and political advisor. He is known for his important roles in the U.S. government and at the United Nations. From 1993 to 1997, he served as the 17th United States National Security Advisor. Later, from 2010 to 2017, he was the sixth Executive Director of UNICEF, which helps children worldwide.
Lake has advised many U.S. presidents and candidates from the Democratic Party. As National Security Advisor under President Bill Clinton, he helped create the plan that ended the Bosnian War. He also taught diplomacy at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Anthony Lake was born in New York City. His grandfather, Kirsopp Lake, was a Church of England clergyman. He moved to the U.S. from England in 1914 to teach at Harvard. Lake's father, Gerard Kirsopp Lake, supported the New Deal, while his mother, Eleanor, was a Republican.
Lake went to Middlesex School and Harvard College, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1961. He studied international economics at Trinity College, Cambridge for two years. In 1974, he earned his PhD from Princeton University. His studies focused on how the U.S. made policy toward South Africa.
Career in Government and Diplomacy
Lake began his career at the State Department in 1962. He worked there as a Foreign Service Officer until 1970. During the Vietnam War, he assisted Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge Jr.. He served as a consul at the U.S. Embassy in Saigon in 1963. He was also a vice consul in Huế from 1964 to 1965.
From 1969 to 1970, Lake was a special assistant for national security affairs in the Nixon administration. He even went with National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger to a secret meeting with North Vietnamese negotiators in Paris. However, in 1970, he disagreed with Kissinger over the Cambodian Campaign and left the State Department.
Working with Democratic Leaders
After leaving the State Department, Lake worked for Democratic U.S. Senator Edmund Muskie during his 1972 presidential campaign. He then served as Director of Policy Planning under President Jimmy Carter from 1977 to 1981. This role involved helping to shape U.S. foreign policy.
After Carter's presidency, Lake became a professor of International Relations in Massachusetts. He taught at Amherst College and later at Mount Holyoke College. His courses covered topics like the Vietnam War and American foreign policy. One of his students, Mona Sutphen, later became a Deputy Chief of Staff in the Barack Obama White House.
National Security Advisor
During the 1992 presidential campaign, Anthony Lake was a key foreign policy advisor for Bill Clinton. When Clinton became president, Lake served as his National Security Advisor from 1993 to 1997. In this role, he helped guide U.S. foreign policy after the Cold War. He supported a policy of "enlargement," aiming to increase the number of free market democracies around the world.
CIA Nomination and Special Envoy Role
After President Clinton was re-elected in 1996, he nominated Lake to become the Director of Central Intelligence (CIA). However, Lake's nomination was withdrawn due to opposition from the Republican Party.
Following this, Lake became a White House Special Envoy from 1998 to 2000. As a special envoy, he helped negotiate the Algiers Agreement. This agreement helped end the conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia.
Lake also co-founded a company called Intellibridge Corporation in 2000. He later advised Barack Obama during his 2008 presidential campaign.
Leadership at UNICEF
On March 16, 2010, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed Anthony Lake as the next Executive Director of UNICEF. This appointment followed his nomination by U.S. President Barack Obama.
Lake officially started his role on April 30, 2010, taking over from Ann Veneman. He was reappointed in 2014 and served until the end of 2017. At UNICEF, he worked hard to focus efforts and resources on helping the most disadvantaged children. He also played a key role in reducing child mortality rates around the world.
Other Activities and Interests
Lake has been involved with several non-profit organizations. He served on the advisory board for the Partnership for a Secure America, which promotes bipartisan cooperation in foreign policy. He also chaired the boards of the United States Fund for UNICEF and the Marshall Legacy Institute.
For many years, Lake was a trustee for St. Mary's College of Maryland. He helped establish the Center for the Study of Democracy at the college.
Personal Faith
Anthony Lake was raised in the Congregational Church and later joined the Episcopal Church. In 2005, he converted to Judaism. He credits his wife, Julie Katzman, for inspiring him to explore Judaism more deeply. He studied with Rabbi Arnold Resnicoff before his conversion. Rabbi Resnicoff later officiated at his marriage to Katzman.
Lake has shared humorous stories about how people thought he was Jewish even before his conversion. Once, after news broke that Secretary of State Madeleine Albright had Jewish ancestors, a story mistakenly reported that Clinton's "entire national security team was Jewish," including Lake. He then started receiving invitations to events like the White House Hanukkah Party. Another time, Watergate tapes revealed President Richard Nixon asking if Lake was Jewish, to which his Chief of Staff replied, "Well, I'm not so sure, but he looks Jewish." Lake jokes that he can trace his "Jewish heritage" back to Nixon!
Personal Life
Anthony Lake was married to Antonia Plehn from 1962 to 1995, and they had three children. In 2000, he began a relationship with investment banker Julie Katzman. They married in 2005, the same year Lake converted to Judaism.
Books Authored
- More Than Humanitarianism : A Strategic U.S. Approach Toward Africa (2006, co-author with Christine Todd Whitman)
- 6 Nightmares: The Real Threats to American Security (2001)
- The Real and the Ideal: Essays on International Relations in Honor of Richard Ullman (2001, co-edited)
- After the Wars: Reconstruction in Afghanistan, Central America, Indochina, the Horn of Africa, and Southern Africa (1990, editor)
- Somoza Falling: A Case Study of Washington at Work (1989)
- Third World Radical Regimes: U.S. Policy Under Carter and Reagan (1985)
- Our Own Worst Enemy: The Unmaking of American Foreign Policy (1984, co-author)
- The "Tar Baby" Option: American Policy Toward Southern Rhodesia (1976).
- Legacy of Vietnam: The War, American Society, and the Future of U.S. Foreign Policy (1976, contributing editor)
Honours
See also
In Spanish: Anthony Lake para niños
- Unsuccessful nominations to the Cabinet of the United States
