Jake Sullivan

Jake Sullivan
National Security Advisor to the Vice President
In office
2013–2014
Vice President Joe Biden
Preceded by Tony Blinken
Succeeded by Colin Kahl
Director of Policy Planning
In office
February 4, 2011  February 15, 2013
President Barack Obama
Preceded by Anne-Marie Slaughter
Succeeded by David McKean
Personal details
Born Jacob Jeremiah Sullivan
(1976-11-28) November 28, 1976
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Margaret Goodlander
Alma mater Yale University
Magdalen College, Oxford

Jacob Jeremiah Sullivan (born November 28, 1976) is an American policymaker and a senior policy advisor to Hillary Clinton's 2016 election campaign, with expertise in foreign policy.[1] He was widely rumored to be a front-runner for the position of U.S. National Security Advisor under a Hillary Clinton administration, before she lost to Donald Trump in the 2016 Presidential Election.[2]

Sullivan is also a senior advisor to the U.S. government for the Iran nuclear negotiations and a visiting professor at Yale Law School.[3]

Prior to teaching at Yale, Sullivan was Deputy Assistant to the U.S. President Barack Obama and National Security Advisor to U.S. Vice President Joe Biden.[4] He also served as the Director of Policy Planning at the U.S. Department of State, and as Deputy Chief of Staff to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. He was deputy policy director on Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential primary campaign, and a member of the debate preparation team for Barack Obama's general election campaign.

Education

Sullivan attended Southwest High School in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was a debate champion, president of the student council, and voted "most likely to succeed" in his class.[5]

Sullivan attended Yale University, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science in 1998; and a Juris Doctor degree in law in 2003. At Yale, he was an editor of the Yale Law Journal and the Yale Daily News, was a member of the Yale Debate Association, and earned a Truman Scholarship in his junior year.[6][7] He also worked for Brookings Institution President Strobe Talbott at the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization.[8]

In 2000, he graduated with an MPhil having received a Rhodes Scholarship to study international relations and became a managing editor of the Oxford International Review.[5] In London, he worked under the Council on Foreign Relations's Les Gelb and was a reporter-researcher for Time Atlantic.

Career

After his studies, Sullivan clerked for Second Circuit Court of Appeals judge Guido Calabresi and Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States Stephen Breyer.[5][8][9]

After the clerkships, Sullivan practiced at Faegre & Benson and taught law as an adjunct professor at the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis.[5] Later he was chief counsel to U.S. Senator from Minnesota Amy Klobuchar.[5][9]

In 2008, Sullivan was originally an advisor to Hillary Clinton during the primary cycle, and then to Barack Obama during the general election campaign. As a skilled debater – he finished second at the 2000 World Championships in the individual speaker category – he prepared Clinton and Obama for debates.[7] When Clinton became U.S. Secretary of State, Sullivan joined as her deputy chief of staff and Director of Policy Planning. He became Vice President Biden's top security aide in February 2013 after Clinton stepped down as U.S. Secretary of State.[10] In those posts, he played a role in shaping U.S. foreign policy towards Libya, Syria, and Myanmar.[9]

On June 20, 2014, The New York Times reported that Sullivan was leaving the administration in August 2014 to teach at Yale Law School.[2]

Iran nuclear negotiations

In November 2013, the Associated Press reported that officials in the Obama administration had been in secret contact with Iranian officials throughout 2013 about the feasibility of an agreement over the Iranian nuclear program. The report stated that American officials, including U.S. Deputy Secretary of State William Burns, Senior White House Iran Advisor Puneet Talwar, and Sullivan, had secretly met with their Iranian counterparts at least five times face-to-face in Oman.[11] Those efforts paved the way for the Geneva interim agreement on the Iranian nuclear program, known officially as the Joint Plan of Action, signed by Iran and the P5+1 countries in Geneva, Switzerland, on November 24, 2013.[9][12]

Since then, Sullivan has regularly attended bilateral consultations with Iran in Geneva as a member of the U.S. delegation on the Iran nuclear negotiations.[3][4]

Personal life

Sullivan married Margaret Maggie Goodlander, a former speechwriter to Senator Joe Lieberman and senior policy advisor to Senator John McCain,[13][14] in June 2015.[15]

See also

References

  1. Nather, David (April 14, 2015). "Clinton names top 3 wonks for campaign". Politico. politico.com. Retrieved 2016-11-06.
  2. 1 2 Landler, Mark (June 20, 2014). "Biden Adviser Leaving Washington, But It May Not Be for Long". The New York Times. Retrieved September 6, 2014.
  3. 1 2 "U.S. Delegation Travel to Geneva for Talks With Iran on Its Nuclear Program" (Press release). U.S. Department of State, Office of the Spokesperson. September 3, 2014. Retrieved September 6, 2014.
  4. 1 2 "U.S. Delegation Travel to Geneva for Talks With Iran on Its Nuclear Program" (Press release). U.S. Department of State, Office of the Spokesperson. August 6, 2014. Retrieved September 6, 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Henry, David (November 27, 2013). "Jake Sullivan: Minneapolis Native Among Those to Hatch Iranian Nuclear Deal". MinnPost. Retrieved December 24, 2013.
  6. "Scholastic Prizes". Yale Bulletin & Calendar. 26 (33). Yale Office of Public Affairs & Communications (Yale University). 1998. Retrieved May 19, 2015.
  7. 1 2 "Jake Sullivan". The Washington Post. July 23, 2012. Retrieved December 24, 2013.
  8. 1 2 Rogin, Josh (January 25, 2011). "Jake Sullivan to Become State Department Director of Policy Planning". Foreign Policy. Retrieved December 24, 2013.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Pace, Julie (December 24, 2013). "Vanishing Adviser Reappears as Iran Policy Player". Yahoo! News. Associated Press. Retrieved December 24, 2013.
  10. "Vice President Biden Announces Jake Sullivan as New National Security Advisor" (Press release). The White House, Office of the Vice President. February 26, 2013. Retrieved December 24, 2013.
  11. "Report Claims Secret US–Iran Talks Laid Groundwork for Nuclear Deal". Fox News Channel. Associated Press. November 24, 2013. Retrieved November 25, 2013.
  12. "A Timeline of Key Events in US–Iran Negotiations". Yahoo! News. Associated Press. November 25, 2004. Retrieved December 24, 2013.
  13. "Commencement Speakers: Maggie Goodlander and Jake Sullivan". Brewster Academy. Retrieved February 14, 2016.
  14. "Margaret Goodlander". Center for a New American Century. Retrieved February 14, 2016.
  15. "JAKE SULLIVAN". The Ruth Pauley Series. Retrieved February 14, 2016. He was married to Maggie Goodlander in June 2015.
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