Kris Engskov (born ) is an American executive and former political aide who was President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

's body man from 1997 to 2000. He was hired one month before the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal broke and was called to testify before a grand jury on that matter twice despite having taken on his job after most of the events in question already had occurred.

Early life

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

native from Berryville, Engskov had a childhood encounter with Clinton during a campaign visit to his home town in the 1970s. Engskov graduated from the

University of Arkansas at Fayetteville The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...

with a B.A. in Public Administration.

Career

Engskov started his career at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

working for the travel office in 1993 shortly after the

White House travel office controversy The White House travel office controversy, sometimes referred to as Travelgate,
''

erupted; his work in keeping travel for White House correspondents flowing smoothly during the transition was praised by a ''Washington Times'' reporter, who wrote that Engskov "stood out, clearing travel plan hurdles with his dry humor and confidence," as when he stepped in to convince the Air Force not to block takeoff of a charter flight whose pilot had no money to pay for fuel at Andrews Air Force Base.Paul Bedard. "President's travel office starts fresh," ''The Washington Times'', December 6, 1993, page A9. He then worked as an assistant

press secretary A press secretary or press officer is a senior advisor who provides advice on how to deal with the news media and, using news management techniques, helps their employer to maintain a positive public image and avoid negative media coverage. Dut ...

for about two years, during which Clinton once made an

April Fools' Day April Fools' Day or All Fools' Day is an annual custom on 1 April consisting of practical jokes and hoaxes. Jokesters often expose their actions by shouting "April Fools!" at the recipient. Mass media can be involved in these pranks, which may ...

announcement of Engskov to replace an injured Mike McCurry:

Still hobbled from his knee surgery, Clinton deadpanned that McCurry had "made a fool of himself" by falling down and hurting his knee. "So until we can bring him back to full health, Chris Engskov is going to do the daily briefing today, and he will be my press secretary during Mike's absence," Clinton said. Engskov, 25, is an Arkansas native who works in the press office. "I thought we ought to have a presidential secretary who doesn't have an accent," Clinton quipped.Associated Press. "Clinton fools with press," ''Mobile Register'' (AL), April 2, 1997, page 2: "

Engskov became the president's

body man In U.S. political jargon, a civilian personal assistant who accompanies the president of the United States virtually everywhere is referred to as a body man or body woman. These personal aides to the president are often responsible for arrangin ...

in December 1997.

Post-Clinton

In June 2000 he left the White House to work as an analyst at the

Madrona Venture Group Madrona Venture Group is an American venture capital firm, founded in 1995 and based in Seattle, Washington. Madrona specializes in seed, startup, Series A and early stage investments. Company Madrona was founded in 1995 by Tom Alberg, Paul Go ...

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region ...

. In 2003 Engskov joined Starbucks as a director of Public Policy. As of 2009, he also was serving as a member of the King County Task Force on Regional Human Services.Task Force Members
King County official web site. Retrieved 2009-03-11. On July 20, 2011 it was announced that Engskov would become the new managing director of Starbucks UK and Ireland starting in September 2011. Of the move, John Culver, president of Starbucks Coffee International, said: "Kris brings a great deal of operational and public affairs experience to the role, and is an ideal candidate to continue the momentum Starbucks has achieved in this region. The addition of Kris to the team is a further sign of our commitment to international markets as a key growth engine for the company.""Former Clinton aide to lead Starbucks in UK and Ireland,"
guardian.co.uk. July 20, 2011. Retrieved 2011-07-20. On January 3, 2019, Engskov announced he would be the next president of Aegis Living, a

Bellevue, Washington Bellevue ( ) is a city in the Eastside region of King County, Washington, United States, located across Lake Washington from Seattle. It is the third-largest city in the Seattle metropolitan area and has variously been characterized as ...

-based assisted living and memory care company, and would assume the role in the spring of 2019.

Other

The character Charlie Young from ''

The West Wing ''The West Wing'' is an American serial political drama television series created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 14, 2006. The series is set primarily in the West Wing of the White Hous ...

'', played by actor

Dulé Hill Karim Dulé Hill (; born May 3, 1975) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as personal presidential aide and Deputy Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff Charlie Young on the NBC drama television series ''The West Wing'', for whi ...

, is based in part on Engskov.Dana Calvo
"'West Wing' hails the real-life chiefs,"
''Los Angeles Times'', April 24, 2002. Retrieved 2009-03-11.The West Wing Bonus features, Season three. "The Chief of Stuff". 2min.12 sec. Former Clinton

Dee Dee Myers Margaret Jane "Dee Dee" Myers (born September 1, 1961) is an American political analyst who served as the 19th White House Press Secretary during the first two years of the Clinton administration. She was the first woman and the second-youngest p ...

, who served as a consultant to the show, arranged for Hill to meet his real-life counterpart in 1999 when the show was just beginning, though Engskov later joked that unlike Charlie, he would never have dated the president's daughter out of a concern for "job security."Bob Deans. "Real-life counterparts find much rings true in witty 'West Wing'," ''The Atlanta Constitution'', October 4, 2000, page D1. Author

Christopher Farnsworth Christopher Farnsworth (born 1971) is an American novelist and screenwriter. He is the author of the President's Vampire series of novels from G.P. Putnam's Sons and a former journalist.Blood Oath,'' and thanked Engskov in the acknowledgements to the book.

References

External links

Job-seeking Clinton aides are striking out on their own
{{DEFAULTSORT:Engskov, Kris Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Assistants to the President of the United States Clinton administration personnel People from Seattle People from Berryville, Arkansas