John J. Sullivan (diplomat)

John Joseph Sullivan (born November 20, 1959) is an American attorney and government official serving as the United States Ambassador to Russia, and who previously served as the 19th United States Deputy Secretary of State from 2017 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, Sullivan served as Acting United States Secretary of State from April 1, 2018, to April 26, 2018, following President Donald Trump's dismissal of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on March 13, 2018,[1] until Tillerson's official successor, Mike Pompeo, was sworn in.[2] Tillerson did not officially leave office until March 31, 2018. Sullivan, however, was delegated all responsibilities of the Secretary of State beginning March 13.[3][4]

John J. Sullivan
10th United States Ambassador to Russia
Assumed office
February 5, 2020
PresidentDonald Trump
Joe Biden
Preceded byJon Huntsman Jr.
19th United States Deputy Secretary of State
In office
May 24, 2017  December 20, 2019
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byAntony Blinken
Succeeded byStephen Biegun
United States Secretary of State
Acting
In office
April 1, 2018  April 26, 2018[lower-alpha 1]
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byRex Tillerson
Succeeded byMike Pompeo
14th United States Deputy Secretary of Commerce
In office
March 14, 2008  January 20, 2009
Acting: September 1, 2007 – March 14, 2008
PresidentGeorge W. Bush
Preceded byDavid A. Sampson
Succeeded byDennis Hightower
General Counsel of the United States Department of Commerce
In office
July 22, 2005  March 14, 2008
PresidentGeorge W. Bush
Preceded byTheodore Kassinger
Succeeded byLily Fu Claffee
Personal details
Born
John Joseph Sullivan

(1959-11-20) November 20, 1959
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)Grace Rodriguez
Children3
EducationBrown University (BA)
Columbia University (JD)

On October 11, 2019, President Trump nominated Sullivan to be the United States Ambassador to Russia.[5] On December 12, 2019, the United States Senate confirmed his nomination by a 70–22 vote.[6]

Early life and education

Sullivan was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts, and graduated from Xaverian Brothers High School in 1977.[7] He then received a Bachelor of Arts in history and political science from Brown University in 1981 and a Juris Doctor from Columbia Law School in 1985. At Columbia, he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar and Book Reviews Editor of the Columbia Law Review. He was a law clerk for Judge John Minor Wisdom of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and for United States Supreme Court Justice David H. Souter during the 1990 Term.[8]

Career

In 1991, Sullivan served as Counselor to Assistant Attorney General J. Michael Luttig in the Office of Legal Counsel of the United States Department of Justice. The next year, he served as Deputy General Counsel of President George H. W. Bush's 1992 re-election campaign.[8]

In 1993, Sullivan joined the Washington, D.C. law firm of Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw LLP, where he practiced Supreme Court law.[8] He was a partner in Mayer Brown's Washington, D.C. office and "co-chair of the firm's National Security practice". His firm biography read:

He also has served as a senior adviser to four presidential campaigns. ... [Sullivan] has focused his practice on the growing intersection of global trade and investment and U.S. national security and foreign policies. He advises CEOs, general counsels, and other senior executives on U.S. sanctions and export controls, international trade disputes and regulation, and foreign investment in the United States, the Middle East, Russia, and other countries. His clients include major oil and gas companies, consulting, accounting, and financial services firms, petrochemical companies, and manufacturers. He has represented these clients before executive departments and agencies of the U.S. and foreign governments, as well as in litigation in the United States, where he has filed briefs and presented oral argument in courts across the country.

Sullivan's earlier government portrait as General Counsel at the United States Department of Commerce

The biography also discussed work on client business in Russia, Iran, Cuba and Iraq and "advising a multinational manufacturing company on security policies and risk issues in countries with a high threat of terrorism, violence, and political instability". In the Obama Administration, Sullivan was chairman of the U.S.-Iraq Business Dialogue, "an advisory committee on economic relations between the two countries".[9]

In February 2004, U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld appointed Sullivan as Deputy General Counsel of the United States Department of Defense. In this capacity, he was responsible for all litigation involving the department and for counsel on major criminal and congressional investigations. During his tenure, he was awarded the Secretary of Defense's Medal for Exceptional Public Service.[8]

Sullivan then moved to the U.S. Department of Commerce, where he served as General Counsel. As the department's chief legal officer and Designated Agency Ethics Official, Sullivan managed the work of over 400 lawyers in the 14 legal offices providing legal advice to all components of the department.[8]

Upon the resignation of Deputy Secretary of Commerce David Sampson, Sullivan was assigned as Acting Deputy Secretary of Commerce beginning on September 1, 2007. He was soon thereafter nominated by George W. Bush to serve in a permanent capacity and was sworn in on March 14, 2008, after confirmation by the United States Senate. As the department's chief operating officer, he managed a $6.8 billion budget and 38,000 employees in 13 operating units. He was also a member of President Bush's Management Council and a member of the Board of Directors of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation.[8]

Deputy Secretary of State

Sullivan being sworn in as Deputy Secretary of State by Chief Justice John Roberts.

President Donald Trump nominated Sullivan to serve as the United States Deputy Secretary of State on April 11, 2017.[10] He was confirmed as U.S. Deputy Secretary of State by the Senate on May 24, 2017, with a vote of 94–6.[11]

United States Ambassador to Russia

On October 11, 2019, President Trump nominated Sullivan to be the United States Ambassador to Russia.[12] On December 12, 2019, the United States Senate confirmed his nomination by a 70–22 vote.[13]

He dropped the puck at the Moscow derby between Dynamo Moscow and Spartak Moscow on February 1, 2020, while describing Alexander Ovechkin as his favorite player. His "Hockey Diplomacy" received positive coverage in the Russian media.[14]

After the departure of President Trump in January 2021, incoming President Joe Biden asked Sullivan, along with a small cadre of Trump-appointed ambassadors, to stay on during his term and not tender a resignation, as is custom during a transition.[15] While it was initially reported that this request was presumed to precipitate the careful selection of a new ambassador, the Biden administration has not ruled out asking Sullivan to stay on indefinitely.[16]

Personal life

Sullivan and his wife, Grace Rodriguez, have three children (Jack, Katie and Teddy)[17] and live in Maryland.[8] He is the nephew of a former United States Ambassador to Iran, William H. Sullivan.[18]

From 2003 to 2008, Sullivan contributed to the campaigns of Republicans Chuck Floyd (MD-8); Jack Ryan (IL-Senate); and George W. Bush (for President); and the Republican Party.[19]

Notes

  1. Sullivan was delegated all responsibilities from March 13, 2018 until Rex Tillerson's formal departure on March 31, 2018.

References

  1. Vitali, Ali; Mitchell, Andrea (March 13, 2018). "Trump fires Rex Tillerson, selects Mike Pompeo as new Secretary of State". NBC News. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  2. Fox, Lauren; Walsh, Deirdre; Koran, Laura (April 26, 2018). "Mike Pompeo sworn in as Trump's second secretary of state". CNN. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  3. Merica, Dan. "Trump fires Tillerson, taps Pompeo as next secretary of state – CNNPolitics". Cnn.com. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  4. "Deputy Secretary of State". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  5. "President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate and Appoint Individuals to Key Administration Posts". The White House. Retrieved October 15, 2019.
  6. "U.S. Senate: U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 116th Congress - 1st Session". www.senate.gov. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  7. "Nomination ... U.S. Department of Commerce > Biographical Information & FEC Individual Contribution Search", United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, 110th United States Congress, March 13, 2008.
  8. "Department of Commerce - Deputy Secretary John J. Sullivan". July 20, 2010. Retrieved June 6, 2008.
  9. "John Sullivan: Partner", mayerbrown.com. Retrieved April 17, 2017.
  10. "President Donald J. Trump Announces Key Administration Posts". businessinsider.com. Reuters. April 11, 2017.
  11. "Senate Roll Call vote PN350". United States Senate. May 24, 2017. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
  12. "President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate and Appoint Individuals to Key Administration Posts". The White House. Retrieved October 15, 2019.
  13. "U.S. Senate: U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 116th Congress - 1st Session". www.senate.gov. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  14. "Breaking the ice: Hockey-loving new US ambassador visits Moscow game… and reveals his favorite player is RUSSIAN". February 2, 2020. Retrieved February 2, 2020.
  15. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-18/biden-team-asks-some-trump-appointees-to-stay-as-ambassadors
  16. https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/biden-russia-nuclear-treaty-extension/2021/01/21/4667a11e-5b40-11eb-aaad-93988621dd28_story.html
  17. John, Sullivan (November 30, 2019). "Statement of John J. Sullivan Nominee to be U.S. Ambassador to the Russian Federation" (PDF). Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
  18. Koran, Laura (May 9, 2017). "State Department nominee vows to promote human rights". CNN.
  19. "Nomination ... U.S. Department of Commerce > Biographical Information & FEC Individual Contribution Search", United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, 110th United States Congress, March 13, 2008. Retrieved April 25, 2019
Legal offices
Preceded by
Theodore Kassinger
General Counsel of the United States Department of Commerce
2005–2008
Succeeded by
Lily Fu Claffee
Political offices
Preceded by
David Sampson
United States Deputy Secretary of Commerce
2008–2009
Succeeded by
Dennis Hightower
Preceded by
Tony Blinken
United States Deputy Secretary of State
2017–2019
Succeeded by
Stephen Biegun
Preceded by
Rex Tillerson
United States Secretary of State
Acting

2018
Succeeded by
Mike Pompeo
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by
Jon Huntsman Jr.
United States Ambassador to Russia
2020–present
Incumbent
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