Andrew H. Schapiro
| Andy Schapiro | |
|---|---|
| File:Andrew H. Schapiro.jpg | |
| United States Ambassador to the Czech Republic | |
| Assumed office September 30, 2014 |
|
| President | Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | Norman Eisen |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1963 (age 60–61) Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Yale University University of Oxford Harvard University |
Andrew H. Schapiro is an American attorney and diplomat who serves as United States Ambassador to the Czech Republic. He was nominated by President Barack Obama March 6, 2014 and confirmed by the Senate in July 2014. He was sworn in on August 14, 2014 and presented his credentials to President Milos Zeman on September 30, 2014.[1]
Early life and education
Schapiro grew up in the Chicago metropolitan area, the son of Raya Czerner Schapiro and Joseph Schapiro. His mother, a Czech immigrant who was born in Prague, was a psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor. His father was a pediatrician. [2]
Schapiro graduated from Homewood-Flossmoor High School in 1981. Schapiro earned a B.A. in history at Yale University in 1985. He then attended the University of Oxford on a Marshall Scholarship, earning his M.A. in Philosophy, Politics and Economics in 1987. He then entered Harvard Law School, where he served on the Law Review with Barack Obama. Schapiro was awarded a J.D. degree in 1990.[3]
Career
After graduating from law school, Schapiro clerked for Judge Richard Posner a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago. From 1992 to 1993 he clerked for Harry Blackmun, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Schapiro is credited with helping to shape Blackmun’s eventual position as a death penalty “abolitionist.” Schapiro wrote to the justice, "Efforts to fine-tune the machinery of death cannot succeed". [4]
Following his clerkships, Schapiro accepted a position in the Federal Defenders Office for the Southern District of New York. He joined the global law firm Mayer Brown in 1998, and became a partner in 2001. Schapiro moved to Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan. There he specialized in securities defense, intellectual property, commercial litigation and appeals. [5]
In 2014, Schapiro was nominated by President Obama to become U.S. Ambassador to the Czech Republic. Schapiro and his wife had served as “bundlers” or fundraisers during Obama’s election and their relationship goes back to law school days. The Senate approved the nomination. Schapiro has since been involved in a public spat after remarks he made that were critical of the Czech President.[6][7]
Personal
Schapiro is married to Tamar Newberger, and they have two children.
References
- ↑ Andrew H. Schapiro U.S. Department of State, accessed may 12, 2016
- ↑ Another Obama Bundler From Chicago Gets a Plum Diplomatic Post Chicago Magazine, March 11, 2014
- ↑ Ambassador to the Czech Republic: Who Is Andrew Schapiro? AllGov, June 1, 2014
- ↑ Documents Reveal the Evolution of a Justice The New York Times, March 4, 2004
- ↑ Obama bundler and Harvard law colleague confirmed as ambassador to Czech Republic The Daily News 724, July 23, 2014
- ↑ Czech Feud With U.S. Envoy Andrew Schapiro Deepens Over Russian War Commemoration The Forward, April 6, 2015
- ↑ Czech president bans US ambassador from Prague castle The Telegraph, April 5, 2015
| Diplomatic posts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | United States Ambassador to the Czech Republic 2014–present |
Incumbent |
