The U.S. State Department announced on Monday that political veteran, Ambassador Stuart Eizenstat was appointed to serve as Special Advisor on Holocaust Issues to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
According to a news release, the position would have Eizenstat, 78, offer policy advice on contemporary Holocaust-related matters, working in coordination with the Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues, Ellen Germain, in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs and with the Office of International Claims and Investment Disputes in the office of the Legal Advisor.
Eizenstat has previously served as Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs, Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade and Ambassador to the European Union.
Eizenstat has previously held the position of Special Advisor on Holocaust Issues during the Obama administration and served as Expert Advisor on Holocaust Issues during the Trump administration.
As Chief White House Domestic Policy Adviser under President Jimmy Carter, Eizenstat recommended that the president create the Presidential Commission on the Holocaust, headed by Elie Wiesel, that led to the creation of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, of which Eizenstat is considered a key founder.
“Ambassador Eizenstat brings with him extensive experience in resolving Holocaust claims and related disputes,” the release stated. “As the Special Representative of the president and secretary of state on Holocaust-era issues during the administration of President [Bill] Clinton, he negotiated landmark agreements with the Swiss, Germans, Austrians, French and others covering the restitution of property, compensation payments to slave and forced laborers, recovery of looted art and bank accounts, and payment of insurance policies.”
Eizenstat is currently with the law firm of Covington & Burling.
