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| death_date =
| death_date =
| death_place =
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| occupation = [[Archivist of the United States]]
| occupation = Senior Strategist for the [[International Foundation for Electoral Systems]], Professor and former [[Archivist of the United States]]
| spouse =
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}}
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'''Allen Weinstein''' was the [[Archivist of the United States]]. He was confirmed by the [[United States Senate|U.S. Senate]] on [[February 16]], [[2005]]. Weinstein announced his resignation on [[December 7]], [[2008]], effective [[December 19]]th, for health reasons.<ref name=resign>{{cite press release
'''Allen Weinstein''' is the former [[Archivist of the United States]]. He was confirmed by the [[United States Senate|U.S. Senate]] on [[February 16]], [[2005]]. Weinstein announced his resignation on [[December 7]], [[2008]], effective [[December 19]], for health reasons.<ref name=resign>{{cite press release
| title = National Archivist Allen Weinstein Resigns
| title = National Archivist Allen Weinstein Resigns
| publisher = National Archives and Records Administration
| publisher = National Archives and Records Administration
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| format =
| format =
| accessdate = 2008-12-18
| accessdate = 2008-12-18
| quote = On December 7, historian Allen Weinstein, Archivist of the United States, submitted his resignation to the President, effective [[December 19]], 2008. Professor Weinstein, who has [[Parkinson’s disease]], cited health reasons for his decision. }}</ref>
| quote = On December 7, historian Allen Weinstein, Archivist of the United States, submitted his resignation to the President, effective [[December 19]], 2008. Professor Weinstein, who has [[Parkinson’s disease]], cited health reasons for his decision. }}</ref> After Weinstein resigned from returned to the [[International Foundation for Electoral Systems]] as the election organization's senior strategist and to the [[University of Maryland]] as a history professor.<ref name = ifesPR> {{cite press release | title =Former U.S. Archivist Returns to the Premier Election Assistance NGO as Senior Strategist | publisher = [[International Foundation for Electoral Systems]] | date = [[October 13, 2009]] | url = http://www.ifes.org/publication/6f5c379784c1f59253bc90702333a237/Weinstein_PR.pdf | accessdate= Oct. 14, 2009}}</ref>


==Early life and Education==
==Early life and Education==
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==Career==
==Career==


===Professor===
⚫
He taught at [[Smith College]] from 1966 to 1981. In 1981, he moved to [[Georgetown University]], where he was a professor until 1984. In 1982, he was a member of the U.S. delegation to the [[UNESCO]] World Conference on Cultural Policies, and in 1983 he served on the U.S. delegation to the UNESCO-sponsored International Program for the Development of Communication. He was a Professor of History at [[Boston University]] from 1985 to 1989.

⚫
He taught at [[Smith College]] from 1966 to 1981. In 1981, he moved to [[Georgetown University]], where he was a professor until 1984. In 1982, he was a member of the U.S. delegation to the [[UNESCO]] World Conference on Cultural Policies, and in 1983 he served on the U.S. delegation to the UNESCO-sponsored International Program for the Development of Communication. He was a Professor of History at [[Boston University]] from 1985 to 1989. In 2009, after he resigned from the position of [[United States Archivist]], he taught history at the [[University of Maryland]].<ref name = ifesPR/>


===Involvement in international elections===
===Involvement in international elections===


From 1985 to 2003, he served as President of [[The Center for Democracy]].<ref name = ifesStaff/> While president he chaired the organization's observation missions to [[El Salvador]] (1991), [[Nicaragua]] (1989-90, 1996), [[Panama]] (1988-89), the [[Philippines]] (1985-6) and [[Russia]] (1991, 1996, 2000). <ref name = ifesStaff/> At the request of Senators [[Richard Lugar|Lugar]] and [[Claiborne Pell|Pell]] of the [[Senate Foreign Relations Committee]], the Center for Democracy organized a bipartisan group of election lawyers to oversee the preparations for the February 1986 elections in the [[Philippines]]. At [[Ronald Reagan|President Reagan's]] request, Weinstein returned to the Philippines to continue to monitor the election procedures. The Center drafted the official report of the U.S. Observer Delegation, and went on to work with [[Corazon Aquino|President Aquino's]] government on matters of electoral procedure.
At the request of Senators [[Richard Lugar|Lugar]] and [[Claiborne Pell|Pell]] of the [[Senate Foreign Relations Committee]], the Center for Democracy organized a bipartisan group of election lawyers to oversee the preparations for the February 1986 elections in the [[Philippines]]. At [[Ronald Reagan|President Reagan's]] request, Weinstein returned to the Philippines to continue to monitor the election procedures. The Center drafted the official report of the U.S. Observer Delegation, and went on to work with [[Corazon Aquino|President Aquino's]] government on matters of electoral procedure.

From 1985 to 2003, he served as President of [[The Center for Democracy]], until the organization merged with the [[International Foundation for Electoral Systems]] (IFES).<ref name = ifesPR/> While president he chaired the organization's observation missions to [[El Salvador]] (1991), [[Nicaragua]] (1989-90, 1996), [[Panama]] (1988-89), the [[Philippines]] (1985-6) and [[Russia]] (1991, 1996, 2000). <ref name = ifesStaff/> After the organizations merged, Weinstein remained on staff at IFES as their senior adviser until he was selected as the [[United States Archivist]].<ref name = ifesPR> He returned to IFES in 2009.<ref name = ifesPR/>


===Board and advisory positions===
===Board and advisory positions===

Revision as of 14:54, 14 October 2009

Allen Weinstein
Allen Weinstein, Ninth Archivist of the United States
Born1937
New York, New York
Occupation(s)Senior Strategist for the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, Professor and former Archivist of the United States

Allen Weinstein is the former Archivist of the United States. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on February 16, 2005. Weinstein announced his resignation on December 7, 2008, effective December 19, for health reasons.[1] After Weinstein resigned from returned to the International Foundation for Electoral Systems as the election organization's senior strategist and to the University of Maryland as a history professor.[2]

Early life and Education

The son of Russian Jewish immigrants, Weinstein was born in New York in 1937, the youngest of three children.[3] His parents were deli owners in the Bronx.[citation needed] He graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School and City College of New York, then received a Ph.D. in American Studies from Yale University. [4]

Career

Professor

He taught at Smith College from 1966 to 1981. In 1981, he moved to Georgetown University, where he was a professor until 1984. In 1982, he was a member of the U.S. delegation to the UNESCO World Conference on Cultural Policies, and in 1983 he served on the U.S. delegation to the UNESCO-sponsored International Program for the Development of Communication. He was a Professor of History at Boston University from 1985 to 1989. In 2009, after he resigned from the position of United States Archivist, he taught history at the University of Maryland.[2]

Involvement in international elections

At the request of Senators Lugar and Pell of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the Center for Democracy organized a bipartisan group of election lawyers to oversee the preparations for the February 1986 elections in the Philippines. At President Reagan's request, Weinstein returned to the Philippines to continue to monitor the election procedures. The Center drafted the official report of the U.S. Observer Delegation, and went on to work with President Aquino's government on matters of electoral procedure.

From 1985 to 2003, he served as President of The Center for Democracy, until the organization merged with the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES).[2] While president he chaired the organization's observation missions to El Salvador (1991), Nicaragua (1989-90, 1996), Panama (1988-89), the Philippines (1985-6) and Russia (1991, 1996, 2000). [4] After the organizations merged, Weinstein remained on staff at IFES as their senior adviser until he was selected as the United States Archivist.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page). Weinstein's extensive research included interviews with former Soviet intelligence officers who had worked with Chambers and a Freedom of Information request that eventually yielded 30,000 pages of FBI and CIA files. Ehrman continues "Hiss also cooperated with Weinstein, granting him six interviews and access to the defense's legal files. After plowing through the data, however, Weinstein did what no previous Hiss defender had done: he changed his mind."[5]

Controversy resulted when Weinstein indicated in a 1976 book review that he now believed that Hiss was guilty, and grew with the publication in 1978 of Weinstein's book, Perjury: The Hiss-Chambers Case. The Nation has since published a series of articles critical of Weinstein. In 1997, editor Victor Navasky published what he claimed as evidence that Weinstein had misquoted, misrepresented, or misconstrued several of his interview subjects for Perjury. One of these subjects, Samuel Krieger, sued Weinstein for libel in 1979 for misquoting him and incorrectly identifying him as a fugitive murder suspect, leading Weinstein to settle out of court by issuing a public apology and paying Krieger $17,500.[6] In 2004, Jon Wiener accused Weinstein in The Nation of breaching professional ethics by paying for exclusive access to Soviet archives, and of refusing to allow other researchers access to his personal archives. [7]

Other sources, including Harvard professor Daniel Aaron[8], Sidney Hook[9], Irving Howe[10], Alfred Kazin[11] and Garry Wills[12], support Weinstein's scholarship. Ellen Schrecker has "explicitly acknowledge[d] that the 1999 publication of Allen Weinstein's The Haunted Wood finally convinced me of the guilt of the major communist spies."[13]

Publications

  • Prelude to Populism: Origins of the Silver Issue, 1867–1878 (Yale University Press, 1970) (ISBN 0-300-01229-2)
  • Freedom and Crisis: An American History (Random House, 1974) (ISBN 0394326121)
  • Perjury: The Hiss-Chambers Case (Knopf 1978) (ISBN 0-394-49546-2)
  • The Haunted Wood: Soviet Espionage in America—The Stalin Era (with Alexander Vassiliev) (Random House, 1999) (ISBN 0-679-45724-0)
  • The Story of America: Freedom and Crisis from Settlement to Superpower (with David Rubel) (DK Publishing, 2002) (ISBN 0-7894-8903-1)

References

  1. ^ "National Archivist Allen Weinstein Resigns" (Press release). National Archives and Records Administration. 2008-12-09. Retrieved 2008-12-18. On December 7, historian Allen Weinstein, Archivist of the United States, submitted his resignation to the President, effective December 19, 2008. Professor Weinstein, who has Parkinson's disease, cited health reasons for his decision. {{cite press release}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ a b c "Former U.S. Archivist Returns to the Premier Election Assistance NGO as Senior Strategist" (PDF) (Press release). International Foundation for Electoral Systems. October 13, 2009. Retrieved Oct. 14, 2009. {{cite press release}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  3. ^ Testimony of Allen Weinstein
  4. ^ a b ""Allen Weinstein"". International Foundation for Electoral Systems. 2009. Retrieved Oct 14, 2009.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference AHC was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Navasky, Victor (November 3, 1997). "Allen Weinstein's Docudrama". The Nation. Retrieved 2007-05-25.
  7. ^ Wiener, Jon (May 17, 2004). "The Archives and Allen Weinstein". The Nation. Retrieved 2007-05-25.
  8. ^ "Guarding the Past: The Archivist's Mild Manner Belies the Uproar Over His New Job", Washington Post, March 31, 2005
  9. ^ Philosophy and Public Policy (Southern Illinois University Press), see also http://www.fortfreedom.org/n08.htm
  10. ^ New York Times Book Review, April 9, 1978
  11. ^ David Oshinsky, "The Meaning of the Enduring Controversy Over Alger Hiss", The Chronicle of Higher Education, December 20, 1996
  12. ^ "The Honor of Alger Hiss," New York Review of Books, vol 25 no 6, April 20, 1978
  13. ^ Schrecker, Ellen (December 18, 2000). "Comments on John Earl Haynes' The Cold War Debate Continues". Retrieved 2007-07-11.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Allen Weinstein.
Government offices
Preceded by 9th Archivist of the United States
2005–2008 		Succeeded by
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