THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Vice President

RONALD A. KLAIN BIOGRAPHY

Ron Klain serves as Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff to the Vice President. In this capacity, he directs the staff in its various activities in support of the Vice President's agenda. Mr. Klain also advises the Vice President on a wide array of policy and political matters. He was appointed to this position in November 1995.

Ron Klain previously served in the Clinton administration from January 1993 to February 1995. First, as Associate Counsel to the President, he directed judicial selection efforts for the White House. In this capacity, he also led the confirmation teams for high-profile nominees such as Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Attorney General Janet Reno.

Later, Mr. Klain served as Counselor and Chief of Staff to Attorney General Janet Reno. As such, he advised Ms. Reno on numerous legal and policy matters, and coordinated the administration-wide effort to craft and win passage of the President's Crime Bill, and the ban on semi-automatic assault weapons.

Prior to joining the administration, Mr. Klain served in the Clinton/Gore Campaign, as Washington Issues Director and as a Domestic Policy Specialist on the Campaign's Debate Preparation Team. During the Presidential Transition, Mr. Klain was Associate General Counsel, directing the legal staff charged with reviewing candidates for Cabinet positions.

From July 1989 to July 1992, Ron Klain was Chief Counsel for the Senate Judiciary Committee, at the appointment of Committee Chairman Joseph Biden. In this post, he directed the Committee's professional staff in its work on matters of constitutional law, anti-crime and drug policy, and on major judicial nominations.

Earlier, Mr. Klain served as a Law Clerk to Supreme Court Justice Byron R. White, for the Court's 1987 and 1988 Terms. In addition, Ron Klain has held a number of other positions on Capitol Hill and in political campaigns, including his service as Staff Director for the Senate Democratic Leadership Committees (1995); on the legislative staff of Rep. Edward Markey (1983-84); as Mr. Markey's campaign manager in his Senate bid (1984); as a consultant to numerous Democratic campaigns (1984-86); and as a member of the Judiciary Committee minority staff (1986-87). A native of Indianapolis, Indiana, Mr. Klain worked in the Washington office and state office, for Senator Birch Bayh. He also worked on the Senator's 1980 campaign.

Ron Klain is a 1983 graduate of Georgetown University, where he finished summa cum laude. He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1987, where he won the Sears Prize (for the highest grade average) in 1984-85, and was an Editor of the Harvard Law Review.

Mr. Klain is married to Monica Medina, who serves as General Counsel for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. They have three children, Hannah, Michael, and Daniel.

Ron Klain has been profiled in The New Republic, National Journal, and Time magazine, which named him one of America's 50 "most promising leaders" under age 40, in 1994.

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