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Charlene Barshefsky
Barshefsky, c. 1997
12th United States Trade Representative
In office March 18, 1997 – January 20, 2001 Acting: April 12, 1996 – March 18, 1997
President	Bill Clinton
Preceded by	Mickey Kantor
Succeeded by	Robert Zoellick
Deputy United States Trade Representative
In office May 1993 – April 1996
President	Bill Clinton
Preceded by	Julius L. Katz
Succeeded by	Richard W. Fisher
Personal details
Born	(1950-08-11) August 11, 1950 (age 74) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Edward B. Cohen
Education	University of Wisconsin–Madison (BA) Catholic University (JD)

Charlene Barshefsky (born August 11, 1950) is an American lawyer. She served as United States Trade Representative from 1997 to 2001. She was the Deputy U.S. Trade Representative from 1993 to 1997. She is a partner at the law firm of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr. She is also an advisor at Moelis & Company and a participant of the Task Force on U.S.-China Policy convened by the Asia Society's Center on US-China Relations.

Early life, education, and career

Barshefsky was raised in a Jewish family on the North Side of Chicago, the daughter of Polish immigrant parents: Getzel "Gustave" Barshefsky, a chemical engineer from Rajgród (1912–1995), and Miriam Rosen (1912–2011), a substitute teacher from Łomża. Her father's family surname had been Barszczewski (feminine Barszczewska) in Polish. She has an elder brother, Alvin Barshefsky, and an elder sister, Annette Weinshank. In 1968, Barshefsky graduated from Von Steuben High School. In 1972, Barshefsky graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Madison with a bachelor's degree, double majoring in English and political science. In 1975, she earned her J.D. from the Columbus School of Law of The Catholic University of America.

Barshefsky was nominated by former President Bill Clinton to serve as Deputy U.S. Trade Representative along with Rufus Yerxa and Richard W. Fisher. In 1999 she was the primary negotiator with China's Zhu Rongji, laying out the terms for China's eventual entry into the World Trade Organization in December 2001. Her negotiations have been analyzed in Harvard Business School case studies.

Legal practice

As of June 2012, Barshefsky is a senior international partner at WilmerHale. Her legal practice focuses on international business transactions, commercial agreements, and regulatory impediments to exporting and investment. Specifically, her expertise lies in "crafting market penetration strategies for goods, services, and investment and devising practical solutions to market access barriers". Her clients include Fortune 100 and other multinational companies that services like trade litigation, dispute resolution, and government relations strategies. She also advises foreign corporations on commercial and regulatory issues in the United States.

Barshefsky has written and lectured extensively on both U.S. and foreign trade laws and public procurement regimes. She was a partner at the law firm of Steptoe & Johnson. She previously served as vice chair of the International Law Section of the American Bar Association as well as a member of its governing council and chair of its Publications Committee.

Board memberships

Outside of her legal practice, Barshefsky participates in several professional organizations. She is the chair of the National Committee on US-China Relations' board of directors, a board member of the America-China Society, a fellow of the Foreign Policy Association, and a member of the American Academy of Diplomacy and the Trilateral Commission. She also serves on the boards of Intel, American Express, Estée Lauder Companies, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She also sits on the advisory board for America Abroad Media.

Personal life

Barshefsky lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband.

Honors and awards

• Named one of "The Decade's Most Influential Lawyers" (40 lawyers total) by The National Law Journal in the regulatory category.
• Included in BusinessWeek's list of "Top Female Corporate Directors"
• Named one of "50 Most Influential Women Lawyers in America" by The National Law Journal in 2007
• Lifetime Achievement Award from Chambers & Partners in 2007
• "Top Lawyers in Washington, D.C." in international trade by the Washingtonianmagazine for 2007, 2009, and 2011
• Outstanding Achievement award at the Euromoney Legal Media Group's "America's Women in Business Law Awards"

References

1. ^ Nomination of Charlene Barshefsky : hearing before the Committee on Finance, United States Senate, One Hundred Fifth Congress, first session, on the nomination of Charlene Barshefsky to be U.S. Trade Representative, January 29, 1997
2. PN267 — Charlene Barshefsky — Executive Office of the President
3. PN729 — Richard W. Fisher — Executive Office of the President
4. ^ "Biographies - Ambassador Charlene Barshefsky". WilmerHale. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
5. "The Task Force on U.S.-China Policy". Asia Society. Archived from the original on January 8, 2024. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
6. "Obituaries - Jewish Press of Pinellas County". Jewish Press of Pinellas County -. May 20, 2011. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
7. ^ Jewish Woman's Archive: "Charlene Barshefsky" by Robert D. Johnson retrieved November 19, 2012
8. Illinois, U.S., Federal Naturalization Records, 1856–1991
9. "Board of Directors". NCUSCR. Retrieved 2024-11-18.
10. "Charlene Barshefsky | AMERICA ABROAD MEDIA". Archived from the original on 2014-07-16. Retrieved 2014-06-16.
11. "Ambassador Charlene Barshefsky Honored as One of the Decade's Most Influential Lawyers by the National Law Journal". WilmerHale. 30 March 2010. Archived from the original on 9 February 2013. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
12. "Two Wilmerhale Partners Recognized as "Top Female Corporate Directors" by Businessweek". WilmerHale. 21 October 2009. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 12 June 2012.

External links

• Ambassador Charlene Barshefsky's WilmerHale biography
• United States to Resume Bilateral Investment Treaty Negotiations on the Basis of a Revised Model Treaty, 15 May 2012, WilmerHale Publications
• The Copenhagen Climate Change Agreement: Failure or Success? Next Steps and Key Considerations for Business, 21 December 2009, WilmerHale Publications
• Appearances on C-SPAN

v t e United States trade representatives
Herter Roth Gilbert Eberle Dent Strauss Askew Brock Yeutter Hills Kantor Barshefsky Zoellick Portman Schwab Kirk Froman Lighthizer Tai

v t e Cabinet of President Bill Clinton (1993–2001)
Cabinet Vice President Al Gore (1993–2001) tenure Secretary of State Warren Christopher (1993–1997) Madeleine Albright (1997–2001) Secretary of the Treasury Lloyd Bentsen (1993–1994) Robert Rubin (1995–1999) Lawrence Summers (1999–2001) Secretary of Defense Les Aspin (1993–1994) William J. Perry (1994–1997) William Cohen (1997–2001) Attorney General Janet Reno (1993–2001) Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt (1993–2001) Secretary of Agriculture Mike Espy (1993–1994) Dan Glickman (1995–2001) Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown (1993–1996) Mickey Kantor (1996–1997) William M. Daley (1997–2000) Norman Mineta (2000–2001) Secretary of Labor Robert Reich (1993–1997) Alexis Herman (1997–2001) Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala (1993–2001) Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Henry Cisneros (1993–1997) Andrew Cuomo (1997–2001) Secretary of Transportation Federico Peña (1993–1997) Rodney E. Slater (1997–2001) Secretary of Energy Hazel R. O'Leary (1993–1997) Federico Peña (1997–1998) Bill Richardson (1998–2001) Secretary of Education Richard Riley (1993–2001) Secretary of Veterans Affairs Jesse Brown (1993–1997) Togo D. West Jr. (1998–2000)
Cabinet-level Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency Carol Browner (1993–2001) Director of the Office of Management and Budget Leon Panetta (1993–1994) Alice Rivlin (1994–1996) Franklin Raines (1996–1998) Jack Lew (1998–2001) Director of Central Intelligence John M. Deutch (1995–1996) George Tenet (1996–2001) Trade Representative Mickey Kantor (1993–1996) Charlene Barshefsky (1996–2001) Ambassador to the United Nations Madeleine Albright (1993–1997) Bill Richardson (1997–1998) Richard Holbrooke (1999–2001) Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers Laura Tyson (1993–1995) Joseph Stiglitz (1995–1997) Janet Yellen (1997–1999) Martin Neil Baily (1999–2001) Administrator of the Small Business Administration Philip Lader (1994–1997) Aida Álvarez (1997–2001) Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency James Lee Witt (1993–2001)* Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy Lee P. Brown (1993–1996) Barry McCaffrey (1996–2001) White House Chief of Staff Mack McLarty (1993–1994) Leon Panetta (1994–1997) Erskine Bowles (1997–1998) John Podesta (1998–2001) * took office in 1993, raised to cabinet-rank in 1996

• 1950 births
• American people of Polish-Jewish descent
• 21st-century American businesswomen
• 20th-century American women lawyers
• 20th-century American lawyers
• American lawyers
• Clinton administration cabinet members
• Columbus School of Law alumni
• Jewish American members of the Cabinet of the United States
• Living people
• United States Trade Representatives
• University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science alumni
• Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr partners
• Women members of the Cabinet of the United States
• 21st-century American women lawyers
• 21st-century American lawyers
• 20th-century American businesswomen
• Jewish American women in politics