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Mitchell Silk

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Mitchell Silk
Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for International Markets
In office
July 15, 2019 – January 20, 2021
Acting: July 15, 2019 – April 21, 2020
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byHeath Tarbert
Succeeded byAlexia Latortue
Personal details
Born
Moyshe Allen Silk

(1961-10-15) October 15, 1961 (age 63)
New York City
SpouseYocheved
Children8
Residence(s)Borough Park, Brooklyn, New York
EducationUniversity of Maryland
Beijing University
Georgetown University
National Taiwan Normal University
Middlebury College

Mitchell (Moyshe) Allen Silk is an American lawyer, author, and former government official. He served as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for International Markets under President Donald Trump. He is an expert in Chinese law and finance.[1][2][3][4] He previously served as Deputy Assistant Secretary from October 2017 to July 2019.

Silk is the first and only Hasidic Jew to hold a senior U.S. administration position.[2][3]

Education

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Silk has a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Maryland School of Law, Certificate in Advanced Studies in Law from Beijing University, and a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University.[5]

He also received education at National Taiwan Normal University and Middlebury College.[5]

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Silk began his professional career as an associate at Hughes Hubbard & Reed from 1987 to 1990, as an associate at Graham & James from 1990 to 1992, as a senior associate at Chadbourne & Parke from 1992 to 1996, as a consultant and eventually a partner and Head of China Practice at Allen & Overy from 1998 to October 2017. He spent a decade in their Hong Kong office.[5][6][7][8][9]

Public service

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In October 2017, Silk was appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary, International Affairs at the U.S. Department of the Treasury.[2][5][10] He was the head of the Office of Investment, Energy and Infrastructure.[11]

In July 2019, he became the acting Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for International Markets. On September 19, 2019, President Trump formally nominated Silk to be Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for International Markets.[12] A hearing on his nomination before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs was held on November 20, 2019.[13] On April 21, 2020, the United States Senate confirmed his nomination by voice vote.[14][15][16] Silk became the first Hasidic Jew to be confirmed to a senior U.S. administration position.[17][18][19][20]

Published work

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Books

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Silk has published a book on Chinese environmental protection law titled: China's marine environmental protection law: The dragon creeping in murky waters,[21] and several other books, Taiwan Trade and Investment Law,[22] Environmental Law and Policy in the People's Republic of China.[23] In 2021, Silk co-authored with Singaporean banker Seth Tan Dancing with Giants: A Lawyer and Banker Share Their Passion for Infrastructure Finance.[24] The book chronicles their experiences over the last several decades working on some of the largest cross-border infrastructure projects on almost every continent and at the highest levels of government and corporate organizations.

In addition to his several books on finance, Silk published a three volume, 2,000 page translation of the classic Kedushas Levi[25] written by Rabbi Levi Yitzchok Derbarimdiger of Berditchev, one of the most popular figures in the Chassidic movement. This is the first ever complete publication of the complete translation of this work. He was a leader for and of the people, and this work delivers keen and timeless insights into human life, behavior, and psychology, and was as concerned with life in the real world as he was in providing profound meditations on Scripture. This publication launched Silk's ongoing project Chassidic Classics,[26] an effort to render the canon classic Chassidic texts in accessible and readable English translation.

Articles

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Are Chinese Companies Taking Over the World?,[27] Taiwan trade and investment law,[28] Understanding China's State Secrets Laws,[29] Post-Mao China and Environmental Protection: The Effects of Legal and Politico-Economic Reform,[30] New Executive Order Seeks to Jump Start the Effort to Rebuild America's Infrastructure,[31] G-d Bless the good people Atlanta Georgia,[32] Natural gas-fired electric power plants: A key element for future U.S. energy policy,[33] A U.S. Treasury Official's Moving Encounter With Atlanta Yeshivah Students.[34]

Volunteer work

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Since 2005 Silk has been doing volunteer work as the Chairman of "Agudath Israel of America Pro Bono Legal Services LLC" at the Agudath Israel of America.[5][35]

Personal life

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Together with his wife Yocheved, Silk has been a resident of Borough Park, Brooklyn.[3]

He was sworn in as Deputy Assistant Secretary with an ancient Tikkun kor'im that had belonged to Rebbe Mordechai of Nadvorna who was from Silk's grandfather's ancestral town.

He is an expert in Chinese law and finance, speaks five languages Cantonese Chinese, English, Mandarin Chinese, Hebrew, and Yiddish.[5][8]

References

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  1. ^ "TREASURY DEPARTMENT: Mnuchin poised to disband Environment and Energy office". www.eenews.net.
  2. ^ a b c "Meet The Hasidic Jew Who Is Key To China-U.S. Trade". June 25, 2018.
  3. ^ a b c "Along the Silk Road". www.mishpacha.com. June 20, 2018.
  4. ^ "A U.S. Treasury Official's Moving Encounter With Atlanta Yeshivah Students - A small group makes a big impression in Washington, D.C." www.chabad.org.
  5. ^ a b c d e f "www.linkedin.com/in/mitchell-silk-9433169/". linkedin.com. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
  6. ^ "Mitchell Silk: Executive Profile & Biography - Bloomberg". www.bloomberg.com.
  7. ^ "Mitchell Silk" (PDF). February 13, 2013. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
  8. ^ a b Silk, Mitchell (May 25, 2004). "Business Travel: Frequent Flier; Briefly a Comrade While Negotiating in China". The New York Times.
  9. ^ "Mitchell Silk - Concurrences". www.concurrences.com.
  10. ^ "Mitchell Allen Silk | Trump Town". ProPublica. March 7, 2018. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  11. ^ "Compliance documents" (PDF). www.treasury.gov. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  12. ^ "President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate Personnel to Key Administration Posts". whitehouse.gov. September 10, 2019. Retrieved September 18, 2019 – via National Archives.
  13. ^ "Nomination Hearing". United States Senate. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
  14. ^ "PN1103 — Mitchell A. Silk — Department of the Treasury". United States Congress. September 19, 2019. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  15. ^ "Boro Park Resident Confirmed to Top Treasury Position – Boro Park 24". boropark24.com. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  16. ^ Kornbluh, Jacob (April 22, 2020). "Mitchell Silk confirmed as Treasury assistant secretary". Jewish Insider. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  17. ^ "Senate confirms Chassidic Jew for first-ever senior position in US administration". JNS.org. February 20, 2020. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  18. ^ Nahmias, Omri (April 22, 2020). "First-ever hassidic Jew appointed as US assistant secretary - The Jerusalem Post". Jpost.com. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  19. ^ "i24NEWS". i24NEWS. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  20. ^ Oster, Marcy (April 23, 2020). "Mitchell Silk becomes first Hasidic Jew to hold senior position in a US administration". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  21. ^ Silk, Mitchell A. (1985). China's marine environmental protection law: The dragon creeping in murky waters (Occasional papers/reprints series in contemporary Asian studies): Mitchell A Silk: 9780942182736: Amazon.com: Books. School of Law, University of Maryland. ISBN 0942182731.
  22. ^ Silk, Mitchell A. (1994). Taiwan Trade and Investment Law (Maryland Studies in East Asian Law and Politics Series; 12): Mitchell A. Silk: 9780195852899: Amazon.com: Books. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0195852893.
  23. ^ Environmental Law and Policy in the People's Republic of China(Hardback) - 1987 Edition: Mitchell A. Silk Lester Ross : 0884735980963: Amazon.com: Books. Retrieved July 6, 2018 – via amazon.com.
  24. ^ Silk, Mitchell A.; Tan, Seth (December 6, 2021). Dancing with Giants: A Lawyer and Banker Share Their Passion for Infrastructure Finance. Li Xiang. ISBN 978-1733133470.
  25. ^ ספר קדושת לוי: The Classic Work by the Chassidic Master Rabbi Levy Yitzchak of Berditchev. ArtScroll. February 14, 2024. ISBN 978-1422638996.
  26. ^ https://www.chassidiclassics.org/
  27. ^ Mitchell Silk (June 2006). ""Are Chinese Companies Taking Over the World?" by Mitchell Silk and Richard Malish". Chicago Journal of International Law. 7 (1). Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  28. ^ "Taiwan trade and investment law /by Mitchell A. Silk; edited by Mitchell Silk. – National Library". nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  29. ^ "Understanding China's State Secrets Laws". China Business Review. January 2011. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  30. ^ Ross, Lester; Silk, Mitchell A. (1985). "Post-Mao China and Environmental Protection: The Effects of Legal and Politico-Economic Reform 4 UCLA Pacific Basin Law Journal 1985". UCLA Pacific Basin Law Journal. 4: 63. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  31. ^ "Articles by Mitchell Silk | Muck Rack". Muck Rack. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  32. ^ Moyshe (Mitchell) Silk (May 15, 2018). "G-d Bless Good People of Atlanta, Georgia" (PDF). Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  33. ^ Mitchell Silk, Paul Mohler, Gary Lazarus and Noah Baer (June 22, 2011). "The Changing Landscape of the U.S. Energy Market" (PDF). Retrieved July 6, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  34. ^ "A U.S. Treasury Official's Moving Encounter With Atlanta Yeshivah Students - A small group makes a big impression in Washington, D.C. - Chabad-Lubavitch News". chabad.org. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  35. ^ "Entrapped Mother and Children Freed | The Agudah". agudathisrael.org. March 13, 2015. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
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