Jake Sullivan
White House National Security Advisor
Jacob Jeremiah Sullivan was born in November 1976 in Burlington, Vermont. He earned a bachelor’s degree in international studies and political science from Yale University. He won a Rhodes Scholarship to attend Magdalen College, Oxford, England, where he earned a Master of Philosophy in international relations. He returned to Yale and earned a juris doctor from Yale Law School. He clerked at the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals and later for Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer.
He taught law as an adjunct professor at the University of St. Thomas School of Law, and engaged in the private practice of law in Minneapolis.
During the presidency of Barack Obama, Sullivan worked as deputy chief of staff to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and then as Director of Policy Planning. He often traveled with her. He became Deputy Assistant to the President and National Security Adviser to Vice President Joe Biden. He left that administration to teach at Yale Law School.
He returned to private practice, later joining the Carsey School of Public Policy at the University of New Hampshire as a faculty member and senior fellow. He served on an advisory council for Microsoft. Shortly after the 2020 election, President-elect Joe Biden announced that Sullivan would be his National Security Adviser.
Sullivan is married to Margaret Goodlander.
In the News…
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met Chinese Communist Party Politburo member and Director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission, Wang Yi on two days last week in Vienna, Austria.
The White House readout of the meeting reported that they engaged in “candid, substantive, and constructive discussions on key issues in the U.S.-China bilateral relationship, global and regional security issues, Russia’s war against Ukraine, and cross-Strait issues, among other topics.”
The two officials had met previously in March, and the meeting last week was a “part of ongoing efforts to maintain open lines of communication and responsibly manage competition.”
Contact this Leader…
Did you pray for Mr. Sullivan today? You can let him know at:
Mr. Jake Sullivan
National Security Adviser
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, DC 20500
