Wally Adeyemo facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Wally Adeyemo
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Official portrait, 2021
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| 15th United States Deputy Secretary of the Treasury | |
| In office March 26, 2021 – January 20, 2025 |
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| President | Joe Biden |
| Secretary | Janet Yellen |
| Preceded by | Justin Muzinich |
| Succeeded by | Michael Faulkender |
| President of the Obama Foundation | |
| In office August 1, 2019 – March 25, 2021 |
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| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Valerie Jarrett |
| United States Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economics | |
| In office 2015–2016 |
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| President | Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | Caroline Atkinson |
| Succeeded by | Daleep Singh (2021) |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Adewale Adeyemo
May 20, 1981 Ibadan, Nigeria |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Education | |
Adewale O. "Wally" Adeyemo (born May 20, 1981) is an American lawyer. He served as the Deputy Secretary of the Treasury for the United States. This is a very important job in the government. He also worked for the Obama Foundation and in the Obama administration.
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Early Life and Education
Adewale Adeyemo was born in Ibadan, Nigeria. His parents were from the Yoruba group. He grew up in Southern California. His father was a teacher and his mother was a nurse. He has two younger brothers or sisters.
After finishing Eisenhower High School in Rialto, California, in 1999, he went to college. He earned a degree from the University of California, Berkeley, in 2004. Later, he got a law degree from Yale Law School in 2009.
Early Career Steps
Before working in government, Adeyemo was involved in politics. He helped with outreach to African Americans for a presidential campaign in California in 2004.
He also worked as an editor at the Hamilton Project. This group focuses on economic policy. Later, he became a senior advisor at the United States Department of the Treasury. He also helped negotiate a big trade agreement called the Trans-Pacific Partnership. He was also the first chief of staff for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. This agency helps protect consumers in financial matters.
Government and Foundation Roles
Working with President Obama
From 2015 to 2016, Adeyemo held important roles in the Obama administration. He was the Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economics. He also served as the deputy director of the National Economic Council. In these roles, he represented the president at major international meetings. These included meetings of the G7 and G20 countries.
After Government Service
After his time in the Obama administration, Adeyemo worked at BlackRock. This is a large investment company. He was a senior advisor there for two years, starting in 2017.
On August 1, 2019, he became the first president of the Obama Foundation. This foundation works to inspire and empower people.
In January 2025, it was reported that Adeyemo joined Columbia University. He became a fellow at their School of International and Public Affairs. In March 2025, he also started working as a speaker.
Serving in the Biden Administration
Becoming Deputy Treasury Secretary
In November 2020, it was announced that Adeyemo would be nominated for a top job. He was chosen to be the United States Deputy Secretary of the Treasury in the Biden administration. The Senate confirmed his nomination on March 25, 2021.
His Time as Deputy Secretary
On March 26, 2021, he officially started his role. He was sworn in by Secretary Janet Yellen. As Deputy Secretary, Adeyemo was very involved in enforcing sanctions. These are penalties used to stop certain actions, like those related to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. He traveled and spoke with officials in other countries to get their help.
In June 2024, Adeyemo wrote an article for the Financial Times. The article was about stopping the Russian war machine.
