Uttam Anthony Singh Dhillon (born September 4, 1960) is an American attorney and law enforcement official. He served as Acting Administrator of the

Drug Enforcement Administration The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA; ) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating drug trafficking and distribution within th ...

from July 2, 2018, to May 18, 2020. He is married to

Janet Dhillon Janet Dhillon (née Wilcox) is an American lawyer. She is a former chair and commissioner of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, serving as chair from May 2019 to January 2021, and as commissioner from May 2019 to November 2022. Prior to ...

, a former commissioner of the

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is a federal agency that was established via the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to administer and enforce civil rights laws against workplace discrimination. The EEOC investigates discrimination ...

Early life and education

Dhillon was born in

El Centro, California El Centro (Spanish for "The Center") is a city and county seat of Imperial County, California, United States. El Centro is the largest city in the Imperial Valley, the east anchor of the Southern California Border Region, and the core urban ar ...

. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

from

California State University, Sacramento California State University, Sacramento (CSUS, Sacramento State, or informally Sac State) is a public university in Sacramento, California. Founded in 1947 as Sacramento State College, it is the eleventh oldest school in the 23-campus California ...

, a Master of Arts in psychology from the

University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Insti ...

, and 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

UC Berkeley School of Law The University of California, Berkeley, School of Law (commonly known as Berkeley Law or UC Berkeley School of Law) is the law school of the University of California, Berkeley, a public research university in Berkeley, California. It is one of 1 ...

Career

From 1990 to 1997, Dhillon served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, where he prosecuted major narcotics cases. Dhillon was appointed to the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...

Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force The Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) is a federal drug enforcement program in the United States, overseen by the Attorney General and the Department of Justice. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disr ...

. As part of the task force, he coordinated with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to direct investigations of violent gangs and major narcotics trafficking organizations. Following his time in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, Dhillon served as a senior investigative counsel for the

United States House Committee on Oversight and Reform The Committee on Oversight and Reform is the main investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives. The committee's broad jurisdiction and legislative authority make it one of the most influential and powerful panels in the ...

from 1997 to 1998, and the policy director for the

House Republican Policy Committee A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together w ...

in 2002. In 2003, he served as chief counsel and deputy staff director of the

United States House Committee on Homeland Security The U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. Its responsibilities include U.S. security legislation and oversight of the Department of Homeland Security. Role of the commit ...

. In 2006, Dhillon became the first director of the Office of Counternarcotics Enforcement at the

United States Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the Federal government of the United States, U.S. United States federal executive departments, federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the I ...

. Dhillon worked with President

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 ...

as deputy counsel and deputy assistant to the president. In 2018, Dhillon was appointed as the acting administrator of the

. He resigned his position to take another DOJ role in May 2020. In July 2020, Dhillon was selected to serve as the director

Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cri ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Bureau.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dhillon, Uttam 1960 births Living people 20th-century American lawyers UC Berkeley School of Law alumni Drug Enforcement Administration Administrators Assistant United States Attorneys Trump administration personnel Lawyers from Los Angeles University of California, San Diego alumni California State University, Sacramento alumni People from El Centro, California American jurists of Indian descent