John Bolton, one of the toughest American politicians, is known as completely intolerant of those whom he considers not very smart. He worked for Reagan and the two Bushes and earned a reputation as a very conflicted person. True, while he gets along with Trump, since he perfectly understands that the last word always remains with the president.
early years
John Robert Bolton II was born on November 20, 1948 in the American East, in the city of Baltimore (Maryland) in the family of a housewife and a fireman. Bolton's childhood passed in the working area. He studied at one of the most prestigious schools in the city only thanks to a scholarship.
In 1964, he was a member of the Republican Party presidential candidate’s election headquarters, Barry Goldwater, who became a symbol of anti-communist views. In 1966 he graduated from McDonog College. In the same year he received a scholarship to continue his education at Yale.
He refused to participate in the mass student actions held at that time against the Vietnam War. John Bolton later said that he had no desire to die in the rice fields of southwest Asia. He believed that by this time the war had already been lost, largely due to internal protests. In 1972 he received a bachelor's degree, two years later he graduated from Yale Law School.
First work experience
John Bolton began his career in 1974 at the law firm Covington & Burling, which was located in Washington.
He gained his first political work experience in the presidential administration of Richard Nixon, where he worked as an intern with Vice President Spiro Agnew. In 1981, he began working as general counsel in the administration of President Reagan. He continued his work at the infamous US Agency for International Development (USAID) in Russia. From 1982 to 1983, he served as deputy administrator of program and strategic planning.
Gaining experience
In 1982, he returned to work in the private sector, becoming a partner at Covington & Burling. In 1984, he participated in the development of the election platform of the Republican Party for the next presidential election. In 1985-1989, when Ronald Reagan was elected president, he served as Deputy Minister of Justice, where he was responsible for personnel issues in the country's legal system.
Under the next president, he became assistant secretary of state, dealing with issues of international organizations. He advocated the abolition of the resolution of the UN General Assembly, which equalized Zionism and racism. At this time, he received the work skills necessary to work with leading politicians of the country. When he was angry that Bush Sr. rejected any of his proposals, Secretary of State James Baker told him: "The guy who was elected does not want to do this."
Career continuation
In 1992, after the defeat of George W. Bush in the next election, he returned to legal work, becoming a partner in a private company. In 1997, he joined the Conservative Analytical Center, the American Institute of Entrepreneurship, as senior vice president.
In the Republican Administration of Junior Bush, he took the post of Under Secretary of State in charge of international security and arms control. Even then, the American politician John Bolton had a reputation as a hawk, a supporter of forceful decisions, advocating the expansion of military and political influence. He also advocated the most rigid political line in relation to countries that he considered opponents of the United States.
He was an ardent supporter of the invasion of American troops in Iraq. Despite the fact that Baghdad did not have weapons of mass destruction, which became the reason for the invasion, Bolton now believes that military intervention was absolutely necessary.
UN Representative
In 2005, John Bolton received the post of US Permanent Representative to the UN. This appointment was opposed not only by the opposition party, but also by some members of the Republican party. Therefore, President George W. Bush appointed him during the parliamentary holidays, when he could do this without the consent of the Senate.
He peculiarly performed his duties in this worthless organization, in his opinion. Bolton said that if in the famous UN building suddenly there is no tenth floor, then no one will notice. And that all countries should follow in the wake of American politics. Since Bush understood that Bolton would never be approved for the post of permanent representative, in 2006 he dismissed him.
In the Trump administration
The first question viewers asked when they saw a gray-haired man with a walrus mustache: how old is John Bolton? The 70-year-old politician took over as president’s national security adviser in 2018. In a meeting with Donald Trump, preceding the appointment, he promised not to start any wars.
Bolton is in favor of imposing even stronger sanctions against Russia, while for Trump it is only a matter of political expediency. They disagree in the assessment of the war in Iraq, which the American president considers a mistake. Regarding North Korea, John Bolton has repeatedly expressed that sanctions and negotiations do not work. And even substantiated the need for a preventive nuclear strike. Having gained fame thanks to his extremely harsh views on many aspects of foreign policy, after his appointment, he somewhat tempered his ardor.
A photo of John Bolton with a usually sullen expression now accompanies information on many significant international events. From this, the world does not get calmer, because he is known as a supporter of power solutions.