John Sullivan ’77
A True Patriot, Leader, and Public Servant
hank you to Deputy Secretary of
State John Sullivan for leading our
diplomatic efforts over the last few
weeks. He is a true patriot, leader,
and public servant.
That’s what Mike Pompeo, the U.S. Secretary
of State, tweeted about Xaverian’s own John J.
Sullivan ’77, who was confirmed by the Senate
as Deputy Secretary of State on May 24, 2017,
following a 94-6 vote. John had been selected by
Rex Tillerson, the former Secretary of State, and
nominated by the President. When Tillerson
was ousted in early March, John stepped in as
Acting Secretary and quietly took the reins of
the State Department until Mike Pompeo was
appointed on April 26. John has stayed above
the political fray, dutifully serving the people
of the United States of America. Many
Americans may not even know his name,
despite the eminent position he holds in
government. Perhaps it’s because, for John,
his service has never been for personal or
professional gain.
“I’ve always tried to serve without partisan
blinders on, doing what’s right for the
United States and the U.S. Government, and
implementing the President’s program.”
But let’s go back to the beginning and see
how a Xaverian grad ended up in one of the
most senior positions in government service.
As John tells it, it had a lot to do with Xaverian.
“Xaverian prepared me for college, for law
school, and for service in government,” John
said. “My classmates and the faculty here were,
I think it’s fair to say, the biggest influences on
my career over the last 40 years.”
That’s high praise, especially considering
that John went from Xaverian to Brown
University, and then onto Columbia Law
School. Inspired by his uncle, William H.
Sullivan, John knew early on that he wanted
a career in government service. Bill Sullivan
served as Ambassador to Laos (1964–1969),
the Philippines (1973–1977), and Iran
(1977–1979). “He (Bill) had been recalled from
Iran by President Carter in the summer of ’79,”
John Sullivan ’77 speaking at the United States Institute of Peace
remembers John, who was at Brown at the
time. “It was his staff that was taken hostage on
November 4, 1979. That became the famous
hostage crisis lasting into January of ’81...444
days that Americans were held hostage by the
regime in Tehran.”
It was about that time, during John’s
sophomore year at Brown, that he decided he
was going to enlist in the Marines and defer his
degree. His father intervened. “He told me ‘no’,”
John said, “‘You are going to finish your degree
and if you want to join the Marine Corps you
will do so as a commissioned officer, not as a
boot at Parris Island.’” His father passed away
soon after, and John credits him with paving his
path toward law school and ultimately service
in government.
At Columbia, John made the Columbia
Law Review and went on to clerk for Supreme
Court Justice David Souter. From there he went
into the George H.W. Bush administration,
working in the Department of Justice for
Attorney General William P. Barr. Over the
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