Bolton, John Robert, 1948–, U.S. government official, b. Baltimore, grad Yale (B.A., 1970; J.D., 1974). A conservative Republican who has supported hardline, unilateral approaches to international relations and been critical of multilateral international agreements and institutions, Bolton worked (1981–83) in the U.S. Agency for International Development and served as assistant attorney general (1985–89) under President Reagan, was assistant secretary of state (1989–93) under President George H. W. Bush, and was under secretary of state for arms control and international security (2001–5) and interim U.S. ambassador to the UN (2005–6) under President George Bush. From 2018 to 2019 he was national security adviser to President Trump, but often was at odds with Trump on policy, a tenure detailed in The Room Where It Happened (2020), which accused Trump of seeking political favors from foreign countries. Bolton also has practiced law in the private sector (1974–81, 1983–85, 1993–99), been active in such conservative organizations as the American Enterprise Institute, where he was vice president (1997–2001), and worked as a television commentator.
See his memoir, Surrender Is Not an Option (2007).
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: U.S. History: Biographies
