Ben Rhodes (speechwriter)
| Ben Rhodes | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications and Speechwriting | |
|
In office January 20, 2009 – January 20, 2017 |
|
| President | Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Michael Anton |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
14 November 1977 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Ann Norris |
| Education |
Rice University (BA) New York University (MFA) |
Benjamin J. "Ben" Rhodes (born 1977) is a former White House staff member who served as the Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications for U.S. President Barack Obama and as an Advisor on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with Iran.
During the Obama administration, Rhodes' official title was "Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications and Speechwriting." He served as Obama's foreign policy speechwriter from 2007 until the inauguration of succeeding and current president Donald Trump in 2017.
Rhodes was born in the Upper East Side of Manhattan. He is the son of an Episcopalian father from Texas and a Jewish mother from New York. He attended the Collegiate School, graduating in 1996. Rhodes then attended Rice University, graduating Phi Beta Kappa in 2000 with majors in English and political science. He then moved back to New York, attending New York University and graduating in 2002 with an MFA in creative writing. His brother, David Rhodes, is President of CBS News.
In the summer of 1997, Rhodes volunteered with the Rudy Giuliani mayoral campaign. In the summer of 2001, he worked on the New York City Council campaign of Diana Reyna.
In 2002, James Gibney, editor of Foreign Policy, introduced Rhodes to Lee Hamilton, former member of the House of Representatives and director of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, who was looking for a speechwriter. Rhodes then spent five years as an assistant to Hamilton, helping to draft the Iraq Study Group Report and the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission.
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