U.S. President-elect Donald Trump nominated Roman Pipko as U.S. ambassador to Estonia, where the Jewish lawyer was born and raised.
“He has extensive experience in dealing with foreign governments, having represented U.S. interests in the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the Russian American Enterprise Fund,” Trump stated.
“Roman has represented American companies, negotiating projects in Mongolia, Africa, Russia, Western Europe and his native Estonia, in cooperation with U.S. government agencies, and has worked with foreign governments on the enforcement of U.S. sanctions,” the president-elect stated, noting that Pipko is an alumnus of Columbia University and Yale Law School.
“As a legal immigrant, he has lived the promise of America, and I trust that he will advance American interests in his new role,” Trump stated.
Garry Kasparov, the Jewish former world chess champion and activist, wrote that “the next U.S. ambassador to Estonia, Estonian-born Roman Pipko, deserves attention, especially for his remarkable Jewish mother, Simona Pipko, who was a prominent defense attorney in the USSR in political cases and has staunch anti-authoritarian credentials. Remarkable.”
Pipko is president of the board of the Park East Day School, a Jewish school in Manhattan. Per the school’s site, he “advised the Commission for Art Recovery on its work on behalf of Jewish victims of Nazi looting and taught in several universities in the tri-state area.”
“For the last 25 years, Roman has been an executive and special counsel at Leon Tempelsman and Son, a New York-based international development company,” it states. “In that capacity, he has implemented groundbreaking transactions around the world. He has also overseen a team of multinational lawyers and negotiated with government agencies in connection with a dispute resolution and litigation involving misconduct by international banks.”
Pipko’s “family has been members of the Park East Synagogue since 1974,” according to the site. “He and his wife were married and had their son’s bar mitzvah here. Both of their children attended the Rabbi Arthur Schneier Park East Day School, where they received excellent academic and Jewish studies education.”
Pipko’s daughter Elizabeth Pipko, a former model, is the national spokeswoman for the Republican Party.
