Tom Malinowski

Early life and education

Malinowski was born in Poland. Malinowski left Poland at the age of six with his mother, Joanna, who married Blair Clark and raised Tom in Princeton, New Jersey.

Malinowski graduated from Princeton High School in 1983, where he wrote for the school newspaper and was an intern in the office of Senator Bill Bradley. Malinowski received a bachelor of arts in political science from the University of California, Berkeley in 1987 and a master of philosophy from Oxford University in 1991, where he was a Rhodes Scholar.

Career

Malinowski began his government career as a Special Assistant for Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan in 1988. After obtaining his M.Phil at Oxford, Malinowski worked for the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna, Austria, and later as a research assistant for the Ford Foundation in 1993.

From 1994 to 1998, Malinowski was a speechwriter for Secretaries of State Warren Christopher and Madeleine Albright, as well as a member of the Policy Planning Staff at the Department of State.

From 1998 to 2001, Malinowski served as Senior Director on the National Security Council at the White House, where he oversaw the drafting of President Bill Clinton's foreign policy speeches and strategic communications efforts around the world.

From 2001 to 2013, he was the Washington Director for Human Rights Watch. In this position, Malinowski repeatedly criticized various policies of both George W. Bush and Barack Obama. Malinowski had opposed indefinite imprisonment without trial, supported the acknowledgment of Uzbekistan’s President Islam Karimov as a dictator, and praised the honesty of State Department officials regarding Tunisia’s President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali as revealed in the United States diplomatic cables leak by Wikileaks.

During the 2004 U.S. presidential election cycle, Malinowski donated $500 to the 2004 presidential campaign of John Kerry.

On July 8, 2013, President Obama nominated Malinowski to serve as Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. Malinowski testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on September 24, 2013, and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on April 2, 2014.

Controversy in Bahrain

In July 2014, while visiting Bahrain, Malinowski was expelled by the country's government after Malinowski met with members of al-Wefaq, a leading Shia opposition group. Malinowski was expected to visit Bahrain for three days, and had meetings scheduled with al-Wefaq, government officials, and a leading human rights activist, Nabeel Rajab. The foreign ministry of Bahrain argued that Malinowski's activities "ran counter to conventional diplomatic norms," but also noted that the expulsion would not affect Bahrain–United States relations. The government of Bahrain also demanded that a representative of its foreign ministry be present at private meetings between Malinowski and members of al-Wefaq, and claimed that before Malinowski's arrival, there was "prior agreement" on this matter.

Malinowski criticized the Bahrain government's decision as an attempt at "undermining dialogue." State Department Spokesperson Jen Psaki said that the U.S. was "deeply concerned" and that the Bahrain government's actions were "not consistent with the strong partnership between the United States and Bahrain." Secretary of State John Kerry called Bahrain's request to have a government official present at Malinowski's meetings "highly unusual" and an "unacceptable requirement that runs contrary to international diplomatic protocol."

Malinowski returned to Bahrain in December 2014, along with Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Anne W. Patterson.