Reihan Salam appointed president of leading New York think tank

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The Manhattan Institute (MI), a leading New York think tank, has named Reihan Salam, as president. Salam, whose parents hail from Bangladesh, was born and brought up in New York and will succeed the outgoing president, Lawrence J. Mone, who has been at MI’s helm for 24 years.

“Over the course of his career, he has championed a quality-of-life conservatism that can speak to all Americans, and especially to those seeking to climb the economic ladder,” the Manhattan Institute said in its Feb. 20 press release.

Salam, who will be the Institute’s fifth president in its 42-year history, expressed his gratitude to the selection committee, and added, “I was born and raised in New York, and so I lived through the extraordinary urban revival that MI helped my city—and cities across the country—achieve. I know not only that ideas matter, in other words, but also that MI’s ideas can change lives for the better.” He praised MI as an “intellectual powerhouse” that had put its scholars’ thought into practice.

“I am delighted that Reihan Salam will be our new president. Reihan is a New Yorker born-and-bred, a product of the city’s public schools, a brilliant communicator, and already a leader among conservative thinkers and policymakers,” Manhattan Institute Chairman Paul Singer is quoted saying in the press release. Calling it a “critical moment” for New York and the whole country, Singer said Salam has the “enormous” task of ensuring MI remains the “north star for reform-minded mayors and governors across the country who are wrestling with how to flourish in the 21st century.”

Since 2014 to 2019, Salam served as the executive editor of National Review. He was also a policy fellow at the National Review Institute and a contributing editor at The Atlantic and National Affairs. In 2017, he was named a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum.

He is the author, most recently, of Melting Pot or Civil War? (Sentinel, 2018), a book that focuses on immigration policy. He also co-authored, with Ross Douthat, the book, Grand New Party (Doubleday, 2008).

“Reihan has a long track record of championing smart policy ideas and raising their profile through exceptional journalism. I have no doubt MI will accomplish great things under his leadership,” MI President Larry Mone is quoted saying in the press release.

Early in his career, Salam was an editorial researcher for New York Times columnist David Brooks, and a producer at NBC News, before becoming associate editor of The Atlantic. His writing has appeared in publications such as Slate, the Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, the Washington Post, the Times of London, and The Spectator. He has appeared as an analyst on a number of radio and television programs, including All Things Considered, Face the Nation, and This Week.