The Honorable Howard W. Gutman and Dr. Michelle Loewinger
Biography
Ambassador Howard Gutman’s career spans the public and private sectors, both sides of the Atlantic, and both sides of the political aisle: from K Street to Silicon Valley, to Wall Street, to Hollywood, then to Brussels. Dubbed by the European press as “The Ambassador Who Makes Us Love America Again” and “the most popular ambassador ever in Belgium,” Gutman completed four years of service as the US Ambassador to Belgium, making him the third-longest US ambassador to serve in Belgium in over 100 years.
Faced with an unfavorable Belgian view of the United States in 2009, Ambassador Gutman vowed to rebuild the US-Belgian partnership by visiting all 589 Belgian cities. Belgian media followed Gutman’s tour, and he became the only person to visit all 589 cities. His tour gave rise to “The Gutman Race” in Belgium, where Belgians vie to repeat the accomplishment. According to the May 2012 Gallup International Poll, Belgium finished first in the world with the highest increase in its favorability towards US leadership.
As part of his campaign to secure additional Belgian troops to support US efforts in Afghanistan, Ambassador Gutman became the first foreign ambassador to appear before the Belgian Parliament. He traveled twice to Afghanistan to visit US and Belgian troops: once with the Belgian Secretary of Defense and once with the Supreme Allied Commander of the NATO forces.
During his time as the US ambassador to Belgium, Ambassador Gutman met with the Prince of Wales, who recently heard one of Gutman’s speeches on climate change. That same week, Gutman met with President Obama at the White House to debrief him on the recent collapse of the Belgian government. Gutman also conducted private back-channel negotiations between Israel and Turkey during the May 2010 Gaza flotilla raid. In May 2017, Ambassador Gutman was presented The Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown, the highest medal bestowed by Belgium on foreigners.
During the Ronald Reagan administration, Ambassador Gutman served as a special assistant to FBI Director William H. Webster, focusing on counterterrorism and counterintelligence. He also served as a law clerk to Justice Potter Stewart on the US Supreme Court and as a law clerk to Judge Irving L. Goldberg on the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Gutman has served as an adviser to a variety of candidates in races for president, governor, senate, and congress.
Ambassador Gutman currently serves as the managing partner of The Gutman Group, an international consulting and investment group. Previously, he was a senior partner with the Washington, DC, law firm of Williams & Connolly, LLP. Identified as one of “Washington’s Top Lawyers” by Washingtonian magazine (December 2004, December 2007) and selected to numerous “Superlawyers” and similar attorney award lists, Mr. Gutman’s areas of practice spanned the full gamut of litigation, investigation, and counseling matters.
Ambassador Gutman also is a widely featured commentator and media guest. He hosts a political commentary series on radio entitled Take My Word for It and, though a Democrat, is a frequent guest on Fox News and Fox Business News. He is a frequent contributor to the Washington Post, Politico, and Huffington Post. In Europe, Gutman appears regularly on Belgian talk and news programs, including appearing as the in-studio election commentator on Belgian television throughout the 2016 US presidential election night. He also presented the final award for “Song of the Year” at the Belgian Music Industry Awards.
Ambassador Gutman is a sought-after and widely booked speaker throughout Europe and the United States. He also serves on several private boards of directors. He is also a member of the Screen Actors Guild and appeared in several episodes of the HBO series K Street, Noise as Tim Robbins’ lawyer, and the 2009 release of Fame as a high school parent.
Ambassador Gutman is a 1977 graduate of Columbia University and a 1980 graduate from Harvard Law School. Ambassador Gutman is married to Dr. Michelle Loewinger, a long-experienced dentist in Washington, DC, and an accomplished oil painter represented by galleries in the United States and Brussels. They have two grown sons.