John J. Sullivan (diplomat)

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to John J. Sullivan.

• Deputy Secretary of State biography
• Ambassador to Russia biography
• Appearances on C-SPAN