Alexander Vindman
Former Director for European Affairs for the United States National Security Council
Vindman was 3 years old in 1979, when he and his family fled Ukraine, then a Soviet republic, for the U.S. His mother died in Ukraine before they immigrated to the U.S.
Vindman and his twin also made an appearance as boys in Ken Burns’ 1985 documentary “The Statue of Liberty,” which explored how the landmark has become a symbol of hope and refuge for generations of immigrants.
From an early age, Vindman’s father worked multiple jobs to support his family, all the while learning English at night. Vindman’s father stressed the importance of fully integrating into their adopted country (U.S.). For many years, life for Vindman and his family was quite difficult. In spite of these challenges, his family worked hard to build its own American dream.
Vindman began his career taking part in the ROTC program while attending the State University of New York at Binghamton and later earned a master’s degree from Harvard University in Russian, Eastern Europe and Central Asian studies.
Earlier in his army career, he was an infantry officer and did tours in South Korea, Germany and Iraq. In October 2004, not long into his yearlong tour in Iraq, he was wounded by a roadside bomb and awarded the Purple Heart, according to the Defense Department.
Vindman was director of European Affairs at the National Security Council. He was appointed to his post at the Trump White House in 2018 and asked to stay for two years. His tasks consisted of developing, coordinating, and executing plans and policies to manage the full range of diplomatic, informational, military and economic national security for the countries in his portfolio, which included Ukraine and Russia.
Vindman had listened to the July 25, 2019 call between Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky at the center of the impeachment inquiry. Vindman was also present in an April 21 call when Trump congratulated Zelensky on his victory. He was also tasked to attend his inauguration in May.
On September 22, 2021, Alexander Vindman participated in Alexander Vindman: Here, Right Matters
