Daniel S. Sullivan
Encyclopedia
Daniel S. Sullivan is the current Attorney General
of Alaska
. Sullivan was appointed to his current office by then-Governor Sarah Palin
in June 2009.
, Ohio
. In 1987, Sullivan graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University
with a bachelor's degree
in economics
. In 1993, he earned a J.D.
-M.S.F.S. joint degree from Georgetown University
, graduating cum laude. He was a member of the Georgetown Law Journal
and interned for the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
while at Georgetown.
since 1993, both on active duty and in the reserves. Sullivan, who has spent several years with a reconnaissance battalion based in Anchorage, Alaska
, initially left active duty in 1997 when he first moved to Alaska, but has since been recalled to active duty twice – from 2004 to 2006, and again in early 2009. Sullivan is a recipient of the Defense Meritorious Service Medal.
in Fairbanks
from 1997 to 1998. He then clerked for Chief Justice Warren Matthews of the Alaska Supreme Court
in Anchorage
from 1998 to 1999. In 2000, he joined the Anchorage office of the Perkins Coie
law firm, focusing on commercial law
and corporate law
. He had joined the Alaska bar that same year. Sullivan also served as vice chairman of the Anchorage Public Facilities Commission and as a member of the Anchorage Veterans Affairs Commission.
area, where he headed the International Economics Directorate of the National Economic Council
and National Security Council
staffs at the White House
. In this capacity, Sullivan advised the President of the United States
– then George W. Bush
– along with the National Security Advisor
and NEC chairman. Sullivan left the White House in 2004.
In 2006, Sullivan was appointed by President Bush to the post of United States Assistant Secretary of State for Economic, Energy, and Business Affairs. The United States Senate
unanimously confirmed Sullivan in May of that year. Sullivan served in this capacity until January 2009. Although he resided in Bethesda
, Maryland
, during this time, he still owned a house in Anchorage and continued to vote in Alaska elections by absentee ballot.
scandal. Governor Sarah Palin
appointed the controversial Wayne Anthony Ross for the post, but the Alaska Legislature
rejected the appointment. Palin then appointed Sullivan instead, who was sworn into office in June 2009, while the Alaska Legislature was out of session. The Alaska Legislature unanimously confirmed Sullivan's appointment on April 9, 2010.
Alaska Attorney General
The Alaska Attorney General is the chief legal advisor to the government of the State of Alaska and to its governor. The Attorney General is appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Alaska Legislature. The position has existed since the early days of the Territory of Alaska, though it was...
of Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
. Sullivan was appointed to his current office by then-Governor Sarah Palin
Sarah Palin
Sarah Louise Palin is an American politician, commentator and author. As the Republican Party nominee for Vice President in the 2008 presidential election, she was the first Alaskan on the national ticket of a major party and first Republican woman nominated for the vice-presidency.She was...
in June 2009.
Early life and education
Sullivan was born and raised in Fairview ParkFairview Park, Ohio
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 420,690 people, 7,856 households, and 4,713 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,742.2 people per square mile . There were 8,152 housing units at an average density of 1,736.1 per square mile...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
. In 1987, Sullivan graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
with a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
. In 1993, he earned a J.D.
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
-M.S.F.S. joint degree from Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
, graduating cum laude. He was a member of the Georgetown Law Journal
Georgetown Law Journal
The Georgetown Law Journal is a student-edited scholarly journal published at Georgetown University Law Center.-Overview:The Journal publishes six issues each year. It also publishes the Annual Review of Criminal Procedure, a comprehensive practitioner's guide to criminal procedure.The first volume...
and interned for the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit known informally as the D.C. Circuit, is the federal appellate court for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Appeals from the D.C. Circuit, as with all the U.S. Courts of Appeals, are heard on a...
while at Georgetown.
Military service
Sullivan has served in the United States Marine CorpsUnited States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
since 1993, both on active duty and in the reserves. Sullivan, who has spent several years with a reconnaissance battalion based in Anchorage, Alaska
Anchorage, Alaska
Anchorage is a unified home rule municipality in the southcentral part of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the northernmost major city in the United States...
, initially left active duty in 1997 when he first moved to Alaska, but has since been recalled to active duty twice – from 2004 to 2006, and again in early 2009. Sullivan is a recipient of the Defense Meritorious Service Medal.
Early career
Sullivan served as a judicial law clerk for Judge Andrew Kleinfeld of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth CircuitUnited States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is a U.S. federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* District of Alaska* District of Arizona...
in Fairbanks
Fairbanks, Alaska
Fairbanks is a home rule city in and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska.Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska, and second largest in the state behind Anchorage...
from 1997 to 1998. He then clerked for Chief Justice Warren Matthews of the Alaska Supreme Court
Alaska Supreme Court
The Alaska Supreme Court is the state supreme court in the State of Alaska's judicial department . The supreme court is composed of the chief justice and four associate justices, who are all appointed by the governor of Alaska and face judicial retention elections and who choose one of their own...
in Anchorage
Anchorage, Alaska
Anchorage is a unified home rule municipality in the southcentral part of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the northernmost major city in the United States...
from 1998 to 1999. In 2000, he joined the Anchorage office of the Perkins Coie
Perkins Coie
Perkins Coie is an international law firm based in Seattle, Washington. It has been listed on the Fortune Magazine "100 Best Places to Work in America" for the past nine years. It is noted for its intellectual property, Labor and Employment, and Products Liability practice groups, and for its...
law firm, focusing on commercial law
Commercial law
Commercial law is the body of law that governs business and commercial transactions...
and corporate law
Corporate law
Corporate law is the study of how shareholders, directors, employees, creditors, and other stakeholders such as consumers, the community and the environment interact with one another. Corporate law is a part of a broader companies law...
. He had joined the Alaska bar that same year. Sullivan also served as vice chairman of the Anchorage Public Facilities Commission and as a member of the Anchorage Veterans Affairs Commission.
White House and State Department
In 2002, Sullivan moved to the Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
area, where he headed the International Economics Directorate of the National Economic Council
National Economic Council
The National Economic Council of the United States is the principal forum used by the President of the United States for considering economic policy matters, separate from matters relating to domestic policy, which are the domain of the Domestic Policy Council...
and National Security Council
United States National Security Council
The White House National Security Council in the United States is the principal forum used by the President of the United States for considering national security and foreign policy matters with his senior national security advisors and Cabinet officials and is part of the Executive Office of the...
staffs at the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
. In this capacity, Sullivan advised the President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
– then George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
– along with the National Security Advisor
National Security Advisor (United States)
The Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, commonly referred to as the National Security Advisor , serves as the chief advisor to the President of the United States on national security issues...
and NEC chairman. Sullivan left the White House in 2004.
In 2006, Sullivan was appointed by President Bush to the post of United States Assistant Secretary of State for Economic, Energy, and Business Affairs. The United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
unanimously confirmed Sullivan in May of that year. Sullivan served in this capacity until January 2009. Although he resided in Bethesda
Bethesda, Maryland
Bethesda is a census designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House , which in turn took its name from Jerusalem's Pool of Bethesda...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, during this time, he still owned a house in Anchorage and continued to vote in Alaska elections by absentee ballot.
Alaska Attorney General
Alaska Attorney General Talis Colberg resigned in February 2009 over the Alaska Public Safety Commissioner dismissalAlaska Public Safety Commissioner dismissal
The Alaska Public Safety Commissioner dismissal, also known as Troopergate, involves the July 2008 dismissal of the Public Safety Commissioner for the State of Alaska by Governor Sarah Palin....
scandal. Governor Sarah Palin
Sarah Palin
Sarah Louise Palin is an American politician, commentator and author. As the Republican Party nominee for Vice President in the 2008 presidential election, she was the first Alaskan on the national ticket of a major party and first Republican woman nominated for the vice-presidency.She was...
appointed the controversial Wayne Anthony Ross for the post, but the Alaska Legislature
Alaska Legislature
The Alaska Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is a bicameral institution, consisting of the lower Alaska House of Representatives, with 40 members, and the upper house Alaska Senate, with 20 members...
rejected the appointment. Palin then appointed Sullivan instead, who was sworn into office in June 2009, while the Alaska Legislature was out of session. The Alaska Legislature unanimously confirmed Sullivan's appointment on April 9, 2010.