Arthur Boggess Culvahouse Jr. (born July 4, 1948) is an American attorney who served as the

United States Ambassador to Australia The position of United States Ambassador to Australia has existed since 1940. U.S.–Australian relations have been close throughout the history of Australia. Before World War II, Australia was closely aligned with the United Kingdom, but it has ...

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 Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

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 ABC News, or ABC News and Current Affairs, is a public news service produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Broadcasting within Australia and the rest of the world, the service covers both local and world affairs. The division of ...

, 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 General Sir Peter John Cosgrove, (born 28 July 1947) is a retired senior Australian Army officer who served as the 26th governor-general of Australia, in office from 2014 to 2019. A graduate of the Royal Military College, Duntroon, Cosgrove fo ...

, on March 13, 2019.

Background and early years

Culvahouse was born in

Ten Mile, Tennessee Ten Mile is an unincorporated community in northern Meigs County, Tennessee, Meigs and southeastern Roane County, Tennessee, Roane counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee. Ten Mile is primarily a summer cottage community on Watts Bar Lake. It inc ...

, the son of Ruth (Wear) and Arthur Boggess Culvahouse. He graduated in 1970 with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

from the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state, ...

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 New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it is the oldest law school in New York City and the oldest surviving law school in New ...

. From 1973 to 1976, Culvahouse was Chief Legislative Assistant/Counsel to Senator Howard H. Baker Jr. 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 The White House counsel is a senior staff appointee of the president of the United States whose role is to advise the president on all legal issues concerning the president and their administration. The White House counsel also oversees the Of ...

, he advised the President on matters ranging from Iran-Contra investigations, to the Supreme Court nominations of

Robert Bork Robert Heron Bork (March 1, 1927 – December 19, 2012) was an American jurist who served as the solicitor general of the United States from 1973 to 1977. A professor at Yale Law School by occupation, he later served as a judge on the U.S. Court ...

and

Anthony Kennedy Anthony McLeod Kennedy (born July 23, 1936) is an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1988 until his retirement in 2018. He was nominated to the court in 1987 by Presid ...

, to the legal aspects of the

Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty, formally the Treaty Between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Elimination of Their Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles; / ДРСМ� ...

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 Nuclear command and control (NC2) is the command and control of nuclear weapons. The U. S. military's ''Nuclear Matters Handbook 2015'' defined it as the "activities, processes, and procedures performed by appropriate military commanders and sup ...

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 The Brookings Institution, often stylized as simply Brookings, is an American research group founded in 1916. Located on Think Tank Row in Washington, D.C., the organization conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in ec ...

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 Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

presidential nominee

's search for a vice presidential

running mate A running mate is a person running together with another person on a joint Ticket (election), ticket during an election. The term is most often used in reference to the person in the subordinate position (such as the vice presidential candidate ...

, 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,

, 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

, 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