John Bolton facts for kids

John Bolton
Quick facts for kids John Bolton
	Bolton in 2018
27th United States National Security Advisor
	In office; April 9, 2018 – September 10, 2019
President	Donald Trump
Deputy	Nadia Schadlow; Ricky L. Waddell; Mira Ricardel; Charles Kupperman
Preceded by	H. R. McMaster
Succeeded by	Robert C. O'Brien
25th United States Ambassador to the United Nations
	In office; August 2, 2005 – December 31, 2006
President	George W. Bush
Preceded by	John Danforth
Succeeded by	Zalmay Khalilzad
3rd Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs
	In office; May 11, 2001 – July 31, 2005
President	George W. Bush
Preceded by	John D. Holum
Succeeded by	Robert Joseph
18th Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs
	In office; May 22, 1989 – January 20, 1993
President	George H. W. Bush
Preceded by	Richard S. Williamson
Succeeded by	Douglas J. Bennet
United States Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division
	In office; 1988–1989
President	Ronald Reagan
Preceded by	Richard K. Willard
Succeeded by	Stuart M. Gerson
United States Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legislative Affairs
	In office; 1985–1988
President	Ronald Reagan
Preceded by	Robert McConnell
Succeeded by	Thomas Boyd
Assistant Administrator of USAID for Program and Policy Coordination
	In office; 1982–1983
President	Ronald Reagan
Preceded by	Alexander Shakow
Succeeded by	Richard Derham
Personal details
Born	John Robert Bolton ; November 20, 1948 (age 72); Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Christine Bolton; (m. 1972; div. 1983) ; Gretchen Smith (m. 1986)
Children	1
Residence	Bethesda, Maryland, U.S.
Education	Yale University (BA, JD)
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Army United States Army Reserve; Maryland Army National Guard;
Years of service	1970–1976

John Robert Bolton (born November 20, 1948) is an American attorney, diplomat, Republican consultant, and political commentator. He served as the 25th United States Ambassador to the United Nations from 2005 to 2006, and as the 27th United States National Security Advisor from 2018 to 2019.

Bolton served as a United States Assistant Attorney General for President Ronald Reagan from 1985 to 1989. He served in the State Department as Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs from 1989 to 1993, and Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs from 2001 to 2005. He was an advocate of the Iraq War as a Director of the Project for the New American Century, which favored going to war with Iraq.

He was the United States Ambassador to the United Nations from August 2005 to December 2006, as a recess appointee by President George W. Bush. He stepped down at the end of his recess appointment in December 2006 because he was unlikely to win confirmation from the Senate, of which the Democratic Party had gained control at the time. Bolton later served as the National Security Advisor to President Donald Trump from April 2018 to September 2019. He repeatedly called for the termination of the Iran nuclear deal, from which the U.S. withdrew in May 2018. He wrote a best-selling book about his tenure in the Trump administration, The Room Where It Happened, published in June 2020.

Bolton is widely considered a foreign policy hawk and is an advocate for regime change in Iran, Syria, Libya, Venezuela, Cuba, Yemen, and North Korea. He has continuously supported military action and regime change in Syria, Libya, and Iran. A Republican, his political views have been described as American nationalist, conservative, and neoconservative. Bolton rejects the last term. Bolton is a former senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), and Fox News Channel commentator. He was a foreign policy adviser to 2012 presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

Images for kids

Bolton in McDonogh School's 1966 yearbook
Bolton joins Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld in negotiations with Rumsfeld's Russian counterpart
President George W. Bush announces Bolton's nomination as U.S. ambassador to the UN. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice looks on.
John Bolton in 2008
May 2, 2018: (from left) Bolton, Mike Pompeo, President Trump, Vice President Pence
U.S. Defense Secretary James N. Mattis greets the National Security Advisor-designate Bolton at the Pentagon in March 2018
December 26, 2018: Bolton and President Trump on the phone with Iraq Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi during visit to U.S. troops
In 2019, John Bolton, then U.S. National Security Advisor meeting British Chancellor Sajid Javid (left) at 11 Downing Street
Bolton speaks at Chatham House on foreign policy challenges facing the Obama Administration
Bolton, President Trump and Kim Jong-un in Singapore on June 12, 2018
Ambassador Bolton briefing on "The Human Rights Commission and UN Management Reform" at the New York Foreign Press Center
Bolton, President Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the G20 Summit in Buenos Aires, December 1, 2018
Bolton greeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in August 2018
President Trump, joined by Bolton and Netanyahu behind, signs the proclamation recognizing Israel's 1981 annexation of the Golan Heights, March 25, 2019
Bolton meets with Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu in Moscow in October 2018
Bolton, President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the G20 Summit in Osaka, June 28, 2019
Bolton with Brazil's president-elect Jair Bolsonaro in Rio de Janeiro in November 2018