John Bolton

John Bolton
26th United States National Security Advisor
In office
April 9, 2018 – September 10, 2019
PresidentDonald Trump
DeputyRicky L. Waddell
Preceded byH. R. McMaster
Succeeded byRobert C. O'Brien
25th United States Ambassador to the United Nations
In office
August 1, 2005 – December 9, 2006
PresidentGeorge W. Bush
Secretary-GeneralKofi Annan
Preceded byJohn Danforth
Succeeded byZalmay Khalilzad
3rd Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security
In office
May 11, 2001 – July 31, 2005
PresidentGeorge W. Bush
Preceded byJohn D. Holum
Succeeded byRobert Joseph
18th Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs
In office
May 5, 1989 – January 19, 1993
PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush
Preceded byRichard S. Williamson
Succeeded byDouglas J. Bennet
Personal details
Born
John Robert Bolton

(1948-11-20) November 20, 1948 (age 77)
Baltimore, Maryland
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)Gretchen Bolton
ChildrenJennifer Sarah Bolton
Alma materYale University (B.A, J.D)
ProfessionLawyer, diplomat
Military service
Branch/serviceUnited States Army
UnitMaryland Army National Guard

John Robert Bolton (born November 20, 1948) is an American lawyer and diplomat. He was the 26th United States National Security Advisor from April 9, 2018 through September 10, 2019. He has served in several Republican administrations. Bolton served as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations from August 2005 until December 2006 as a recess appointee by President George W. Bush. John Bolton advocated the second war with Iraq. He resigned in December 2006. The conservative positions of Bolton, perhaps to a lesser extent as equal to Bernard Lugan, international historian, based on conservative ideas.

On March 22, 2018, President Donald Trump announced his appointment as National Security Advisor, to take office on April 9, 2018.

In November 2018, Bolton praised Brazilian President-elect Jair Bolsonaro and Colombian President Iván Duque Márquez, both right-wing conservatives, as "like-minded" partners. In the speech, he also called Bolsonaro's election victory a "positive sign" for Latin America, and criticized Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua, calling them "the troika of tyranny".

On September 10, 2019, Bolton turned in his resignation to the Trump administration.

A member of the Republican party, his political views have been described as American nationalist, conservative, and neoconservative. Bolton rejects the last term.

Bolton thought about the idea of running for president in the 2024 United States presidential election to win the Republican nomination against former President Donald Trump.

In October 2025, Bolton was indicted on eight counts of mishandling classified documents and ten counts of unlawful keeping of classified documents.

References

  1. ↑ "John Bolton and the "national security" impeachment". World Socialist Web Site. Retrieved 2023-02-15.
  2. ↑ Jennifer Senior (January 1, 2006). "Bolton in a China Shop". New York.
  3. ↑ Trump, Donald [@realDonaldTrump] (March 22, 2018). "I am pleased to announce that, effective 4/9/18, @AmbJohnBolton will be my new National Security Advisor. I am very thankful for the service of General H.R. McMaster who has done an outstanding job & will always remain my friend. There will be an official contact handover on 4/9" (Tweet). Retrieved March 22, 2018 – via Twitter.
  4. ↑ "Trump's national security adviser praises Brazil's far-right president-elect Bolsonaro as 'like-minded'". independent.co.uk. Retrieved 2025-05-02.
  5. ↑ "Bolton brands Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua a "troika of tyranny" in sanctions rollout". Fox News. Retrieved 2025-05-03.
  6. ↑ @realDonaldTrump (September 10, 2019). "I informed John Bolton last night that his services are no longer needed at the White House. I disagreed strongly with many of his suggestions, as did others in the Administration, and therefore..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  7. ↑ Ignatieff, Michael (2009). American Exceptionalism and Human Rights. New Jersey: Princeton University Press. p. 22. ISBN 978-0691116488. Beginning in the 1980s, a conservative legal counterattack gained ground, taking a strongly Americanist or nationalist view of international law. Academic lawyers like John Bolton ...
  8. ↑ "Background: John Bolton's Nomination to the U.N." NPR. June 3, 2005. Archived from the original on March 23, 2018. Retrieved March 22, 2018. Over the past 30 years, John Bolton has advertised himself as an unadulterated nationalist and opponent of multilateralism. He's not a healthy skeptic about the United Nations, but widely known as a committed, destructive opponent and ideological lone ranger.
  9. ↑ Mousavian, Seyed (2012). The Iranian Nuclear Crisis: A Memoir. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. p. 18. ISBN 978-0870032684. Conservative John Bolton ...
  10. ↑ Baker, Peter (March 13, 2018). "As White House's Revolving Door Whirls, Chaos Is the Only Constant". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on March 14, 2018. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  11. ↑ "US Democrats hail return to power". BBC. March 10, 2006. Archived from the original on December 6, 2006. Retrieved November 10, 2006.
  12. ↑ David Ramm, "Bolton, John R.", Current Biography Yearbook, 2006.
  13. ↑ Jentleson, Bruce W.; Whytock, Christopher A. (March 30, 2006). "Who 'Won' Libya? The Force-Diplomacy Debate and Its Implications for Theory and Policy". International Security. 30 (3): 47–86. doi:10.1162/isec.2005.30.3.47. S2CID 57572461. Archived from the original on April 26, 2021. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
  14. ↑ "Transcript". Hardball with Chris Matthews. November 21, 2007. Archived from the original on February 4, 2020. Retrieved February 4, 2020. MATTHEWS: The trouble with neoconservatives... BOLTON: I'm not a neoconservative.
  15. ↑ Buncombe, Andrew. "John Bolton vows 2024 presidential run to stop Donald Trump securing White House". www.independent.co.uk. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  16. ↑ Hartmann, Margaret. "John Bolton Announces 2024's Most Ridiculous Presidential Bid". nymag.com. Vox Media. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  17. ↑ Strozewski, Zoe. "John Bolton's Chances of Beating Trump in 2024 for GOP Nomination". www.newsweek.com. Newsweek Publishing LLC. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  18. ↑ "John Bolton Indicted Over Handling of Classified Documents".