She will replace Jen Psaki, who has held this post since Joe Biden came to the White House in January 2021.

On May 13, 2022, Karine Jean-Pierre takes over as White House press Secretary. She will replace Jen Psaki, who has held this post since Joe Biden came to the White House in January 2021.

Origin, education, early career

Karine Jean-Pierre was born on August 13, 1977 in Fort-de-France (Martinique, an overseas territory of France). She is of Haitian descent. When she was five years old, the family moved to the USA. Her father worked as a taxi driver, her mother as a home nurse.

In 1993-1997 she studied at the New York Institute of Technology, in 2003 she graduated from the Master’s degree at the School of International and Public Relations at Columbia University. Participated in student self-government.

She began her political career in 2003 as an adviser to New York City Council deputies James Sanders and James Gennaro (both from the Democratic Party). In 2003-2004, she was one of the political advisers on the team of Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards (did not pass the primaries).

Consulting and scientific activities

In 2006, she was appointed Public relations coordinator for Walmart Watch, a nonprofit organization that studies the impact of large corporations on society.

In 2014, she became a lecturer at the School of International and Public Relations at Columbia University.

In 2014-2015, she worked for the American Civil Liberties Union, a non-profit human rights organization.

In 2016, Jean-Pierre joined as a senior advisor and official representative to the MoveOn political action committee, which promotes candidates and current politicians of progressive views.

Since 2019, she has repeatedly acted as a political commentator on the American TV channels NBC News and MSNBC.

Working in the White House

In 2008 and 2012, she was a member of the election headquarters of presidential candidate Barack Obama. During his presidency, she worked in the White House Office of Political Affairs.

In 2015-2016, she participated in the campaign of Democratic presidential candidate Martin O’Malley.

In 2020, she was a senior adviser at the election headquarters of Democrat Joe Biden. After his victory, she took the post of first Deputy Press Secretary of the White House (in office since January 20, 2021).

Jean-Pierre will become the first black woman to serve as a White House press secretary.

Personal information

She repeatedly entered into open conflicts with candidates from the Republican Party, claimed that the elections in the states where the Republicans won were “stolen.” She called the ex-head of the White House Donald Trump an “illegitimate president” and Fox News a “racist television network.” She organized protests against Trump’s policies, supported the nationwide campaign “Together against Hate,” highlighting the problems of racism and chauvinism.

In 2019, she published her memoir “Moving Forward: A Story of Hope, Hard Work and the Promises of America.”

An open representative of sex minorities. Her partner is Suzanne Malveaux, a CNN journalist. They are raising an adopted daughter.

She is fluent in French and Haitian Creole.