Arthur Boggess Culvahouse Jr. (born July 4, 1948) is an American attorney who served as the United States Ambassador to Australia from 2019 to 2021. He is the former Chair of

O'Melveny & Myers O'Melveny & Myers LLP is an American multinational law firm founded in Los Angeles, California in 1885. The firm employs approximately 740 lawyers and has offices in California, Washington, D.C., New York City, Beijing, Brussels, Hong Kong, Lon ...

, an international law firm of more than 1,000 lawyers with offices around the world. Culvahouse also served as counsel to

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

in the last two years of his presidency, and was entrusted by

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...

and Donald Trump to vet their vice presidential candidates. On November 6, 2018, Culvahouse was announced to be the new appointment as the United States' Ambassador to Australia,Donald Trump announces Arthur B Culvahouse Jr as ambassador to Australia after two-year gap
Greg Jennett, ABC News Online, 2018-11-06. Archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20181106085414/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-11-06/donald-trump-announces-new-ambassador-to-australia/10470294 a posting confirmed by the Senate on January 2, 2019. He presented his credentials to the

Governor-General of Australia The governor-general of Australia is the representative of the monarch, currently King Charles III, in Australia.Peter Cosgrove, on March 13, 2019.

Background and early years

Culvahouse was born in Ten Mile, Tennessee, the son of Ruth (Wear) and Arthur Boggess Culvahouse. He graduated in 1970 with a Bachelor of Science from the University of Tennessee and in 1973 as a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from the New York University School of Law. From 1973 to 1976, Culvahouse was Chief Legislative Assistant/Counsel to Senator

Howard H. Baker Jr. Howard Henry Baker Jr. (November 15, 1925 June 26, 2014) was an American politician and diplomat who served as a United States Senator from Tennessee from 1967 to 1985. During his tenure, he rose to the rank of Senate Minority Leader and then ...

He practiced law with O'Melveny & Myers from 1976 to 1984, and again from 1989 until 2018.

Career

Reagan Chief Counsel

From 1987 to 1989, Culvahouse served as Counsel to U.S. President

. As White House Counsel, he advised the President on matters ranging from Iran-Contra investigations, to the Supreme Court nominations of Robert Bork and Anthony Kennedy, to the legal aspects of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.

Culvahouse served as Bork's "handler" during his rejected Senate confirmation hearings for the Supreme Court. In January 1989, Reagan awarded Culvahouse the Presidential Citizens’ Medal, an award established in 1969 to "recognize citizens who performed exemplary deeds of service for the country or their fellow citizens."

Post-White House

From 1990 to 1992, Culvahouse served as a member of the Federal Advisory Committee on Nuclear Failsafe and Risk Reduction, appointed by

Secretary of Defense A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

Dick Cheney Richard Bruce Cheney ( ; born January 30, 1941) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 46th vice president of the United States from 2001 to 2009 under President George W. Bush. He is currently the oldest living former U ...

, to evaluate and recommend improvements in the United States' nuclear command and control system. In December 1992, Cheney awarded Culvahouse the Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service. Culvahouse's prior service on boards and commissions includes service on the Supreme Court Fellows Commission (2002–2005), the Board of Visitors of the

U.S. Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of ...

(1989–1991), and the Counterintelligence Advisory Panel to the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (1989–1990). Prior to his appointed as U.S. Ambassador to Australia Culvahouse was a member of the Brookings Institution Board of Trustees, and the Leadership Board of the Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness.

McCain campaign

In May 2008, Culvahouse was chosen to head presumptive Republican presidential nominee

's search for a vice presidential running mate, the first time that Culvahouse had ever been involved in a presidential campaign. At the same time, he won a third four-year term to the chairmanship of his law firm. Culvahouse was mentioned in the American Bar Association's journal as a possible

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

in a John McCain presidency, because "a lot of Democrats in Washington respect him and he has private access to a lot of ears on

Capitol Hill Capitol Hill, in addition to being a metonym for the United States Congress, is the largest historic residential neighborhood in Washington, D.C., stretching easterly in front of the United States Capitol along wide avenues. It is one of the ...

." McCain's pick of

Sarah Palin Sarah Louise Palin (; Heath; born February 11, 1964) is an American politician, commentator, author, and reality television personality who served as the ninth governor of Alaska from 2006 until her resignation in 2009. She was the 2008 R ...

for vice president led to controversy over the vetting process. In 2009, Culvahouse defended his vetting in a speech to the Republican National Lawyers Association: Palin "had a lot of capacity. The mistake I made -- and we've laughed about it since -- after giving cCainthat advice, he said, 'Well, what's your bottom line?' I said, 'John. High risk, high reward.' And his response, ‘You shouldn't have told me that, I've been a risk-taker all of my life.'" “Me and two of my most cynical partners interviewed

alin Alin may refer to: * Alin, Iran, a village * Arid Lands Information Network, a Kenyan NGO * Alin, a magical civilization in the video game ''Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends#Alin, Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends'' * ''Alianza de Izquierda Naciona ...

and came away impressed,” Culvahouse said.

Trump campaign

In May 2016, Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, chose Culvahouse to head the search for his running mate.

Ambassador to Australia

On 6 November 2018, Trump nominated Culvahouse as the next United States Ambassador to Australia, to fill a post that had been vacant since John Berry left the post in September 2016. The appointment was confirmed by the Senate on 2 January 2019. Culvahouse officially took office on March 13, 2019 when his credentials were accepted by the Governor-General of Australia, Sir Peter Cosgrove. He left office in January 2021.

References

External links

Culvahouse's profile at the OMM website
* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Culvahouse, Arthur B. Jr. 1948 births 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American lawyers Living people New York University School of Law alumni People from Roane County, Tennessee Presidential Citizens Medal recipients Reagan administration personnel Tennessee lawyers Tennessee Republicans United States presidential advisors University of Tennessee alumni Washington, D.C., Republicans White House Counsels Brookings Institution people Ambassadors of the United States to Australia Trump administration personnel