Charlene Barshefsky (born August 11, 1950) is an American lawyer. She served as United States Trade Representative from 1997 to 2001. She was the Deputy U.S. Trade Representative from 1993 to 1997. She is a partner at the law firm of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr. She is also an advisor at Moelis & Company and a participant of the Task Force on U.S.-China Policy convened by the Asia Society's Center on US-China Relations.

Early life, education, and career

Barshefsky was raised in a Jewish family on the North Side of Chicago, the daughter of Polish immigrant parents: Getzel "Gustave" Barshefsky, a chemical engineer from Rajgród (1912–1995), and Miriam Rosen (1912–2011), a substitute teacher from Łomża. Her father's family surname had been Barszczewski (feminine Barszczewska) in Polish. She has an elder brother, Alvin Barshefsky, and an elder sister, Annette Weinshank. In 1999 she was the primary negotiator with China's Zhu Rongji, laying out the terms for China's eventual entry into the World Trade Organization in December 2001. Her negotiations have been analyzed in Harvard Business School case studies. a board member of the America-China Society, a fellow of the Foreign Policy Association, and a member of the American Academy of Diplomacy and the Trilateral Commission. She also serves on the boards of Intel, American Express, Estée Lauder Companies, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Personal life

Barshefsky lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband.

Honors and awards

  • Named one of "The Decade's Most Influential Lawyers" (40 lawyers total) by The National Law Journal in the regulatory category.
  • Included in BusinessWeeks list of "Top Female Corporate Directors"
  • Named one of "50 Most Influential Women Lawyers in America" by The National Law Journal in 2007
  • Lifetime Achievement Award from Chambers & Partners in 2007
  • "Top Lawyers in Washington, D.C." in international trade by the Washingtonianmagazine for 2007, 2009, and 2011
  • Outstanding Achievement award at the Euromoney Legal Media Group's "America's Women in Business Law Awards"