Mark Henry Gitenstein was born on March 7,1947 and is an American lawyer and diplomat who had served as the United States ambassador to the European Union.
23 Facts About Mark Gitenstein
1.
2.
Mark Gitenstein was nominated by President Joe Biden on July 27,2021, and confirmed by the United States Senate on December 18,2021.
3.
Mark Gitenstein formerly served as the United States ambassador to Romania from 2009 to 2012; he was nominated by President Barack Obama on June 11,2009 and confirmed by the Senate on July 8,2009.
4.
Mark Gitenstein attended the Indian Springs School, graduating in 1964.
5.
Mark Gitenstein earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Duke University and a Juris Doctor from the Georgetown Law School.
6.
Mark Gitenstein served as chief counsel and minority chief counsel to the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, serving under then-Senator Joe Biden.
7.
Mark Gitenstein served as counsel to the United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.
8.
Mark Gitenstein became a partner at Mayer Brown in 1989 and was a "nonresident senior fellow" at the Brookings Institution.
9.
Mark Gitenstein is the author of Matters of Principle, a non-fiction book about the Robert Bork Supreme Court nomination, for which he was awarded the American Bar Association's Silver Gavel award.
10.
Mark Gitenstein has been selected by his peers several times for inclusion in "Best Lawyers in America".
11.
Mark Gitenstein was on the advisory board for President-elect Barack Obama's presidential transition team.
12.
In 2009 Mark Gitenstein was nominated for the post of US Ambassador to Romania.
13.
Mark Gitenstein actively promoted deeper development of Romania's equity markets, as well as a fair and transparent business environment for all investors.
14.
Mark Gitenstein encouraged greater private sector involvement in state-owned enterprises, including the introduction of a corporate governance code for SOEs.
15.
Mark Gitenstein travelled to Afghanistan three times to visit US and Romanian troops.
16.
Mark Gitenstein was a human rights advocate for the country's minority Roma population.
17.
Mark Gitenstein was awarded the Star of Romania, the country's highest civilian honor, in 2012.
18.
On September 5,2020, Mark Gitenstein was announced to be a member of the advisory council of the Biden-Harris Transition Team.
19.
On July 27,2021, President Joe Biden announced the nomination of Mark Gitenstein to be the United States ambassador to the European Union.
20.
Mark Gitenstein's nomination was sent to the Senate the following day.
21.
Mark Gitenstein presented his credentials to the European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen on January 24,2022.
22.
Mark Gitenstein established innovative frameworks to unite civil society leaders, financial experts, philanthropists, and successful media organizations, formulating policy recommendations for the European Commission to utilize blended-finance equity investments to strengthen independent and pluralistic media ecosystems in the region.
23.
Mark Gitenstein is married to Elizabeth Gitenstein and has three children and seven grandchildren.