Robert McCallum Jr.
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Robert Davis McCallum Jr. (born January 30, 1946) is an American lawyer and diplomat who served in the Bush administration. He was the Associate Attorney General of the United States from 2003 to 2006, also acting as the
Deputy Attorney General The Deputy Attorney General (DAG) is the second-highest-ranking official in a department of justice or of law, in various governments of the world. In those governments, the deputy attorney general oversees the day-to-day operation of the departme ...
from 2005 to 2006. He was appointed 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 ...
in 2006, a capacity in which he served until the end of Bush's term in 2009.


Early life

McCallum was born in
Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...
, where his father, Robert D. McCallum, was a businessman. He was educated at Presbyterian Day School in Memphis and then at
The Choate School Choate Rosemary Hall (often known as Choate; ) is a private, co-educational, college-preparatory boarding school in Wallingford, Connecticut, United States. Choate is currently ranked as the second best boarding school and third best private hi ...
(now Choate Rosemary Hall) in
Wallingford, Connecticut Wallingford is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, centrally located between New Haven and Hartford, and Boston and New York City. The population was 44,396 at the 2020 census. The community was named after Wallingford, in En ...
, where he was a star tennis player and captain of the basketball team. He then went to
Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
, where he graduated in 1968. At Yale his roommate and fellow member of
Skull and Bones Skull and Bones, also known as The Order, Order 322 or The Brotherhood of Death, is an undergraduate senior secret student society at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The oldest senior class society at the university, Skull and Bone ...
was George W. Bush. In 1968, McCallum was named a
Rhodes Scholar The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...
and attended
Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
in England. While at Oxford, McCallum was a member of the Oxford University men's basketball team that reached the final of the Amateur Basketball Association (A.B.B.A) National Championship. In 1969, he married Mary Rankin Weems ("Mimi") of Memphis. They have two adult sons, one of whom was also a Rhodes Scholar. McCallum graduated from
Yale Law School Yale Law School (Yale Law or YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824 and has been ranked as the best law school in the United States by ''U ...
in 1973.


Professional life

After completing his
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 ...
at Yale in 1973, McCallum joined the
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
law firm of
Alston & Bird Alston & Bird LLP is an international law firm with over 800 lawyers in 13 offices throughout the United States, Europe, the UK, and Asia. The firm provides legal services to both domestic and international clients who conduct business worldwide ...
.
Philip Alston Philip Geoffrey Alston is an Australian international law scholar and human rights practitioner. He is John Norton Pomeroy Professor of Law at New York University School of Law, and co-chair of the law school's Center for Human Rights and Globa ...
, one of the principals of this firm, was U.S. Ambassador to Australia under President
Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...
from 1977 to 1981. McCallum remained with the firm for 28 years, before joining the
U.S. 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 ...
in 2001 as
Assistant Attorney General Many of the divisions and offices of the United States Department of Justice are headed by an assistant attorney general. The president of the United States appoints individuals to the position of assistant attorney general with the advice and ...
for the Civil Division. In this position, he oversaw litigation involving the defense of challenges to Presidential actions and acts of Congress; national security issues; immigration; benefit programs; commercial issues including health care fraud, banking, insurance, patents, debt collection; and the Food Drug and Cosmetic Act. In July 2003 McCallum was appointed Associate Attorney General. He served as Acting Deputy Attorney General from September to December 2004 and from August 2005 until he resigned on being nominated as Ambassador to Australia. In 2005 McCallum, who had been a partner at the Atlanta law firm Alston & Bird that did legal work for R.J. Reynolds Tobacco, was accused of interfering with the government's prosecution of the tobacco industry by requiring Justice Department lawyers to cut their demand for an industry-sponsored
smoking cessation Smoking cessation, usually called quitting smoking or stopping smoking, is the process of discontinuing tobacco smoking. Tobacco smoke contains nicotine, which is addictive and can cause dependence. As a result, nicotine withdrawal often make ...
program from $130 billion to $10 billion. One prosecution witness, Matthew Myers, said he was told by Justice lawyers that McCallum wanted him to remove part of his testimony. Harvard business professor Max Bazerman then told the press McCallum sent word he would be prohibited from testifying if he did not alter his testimony; Bazerman refused to do so but to his surprise was still allowed to testify. During his ambassadorial confirmation hearings before the
United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...
, Senator
Dick Durbin Richard Joseph Durbin (born November 21, 1944) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Illinois, a seat he has held since 1997. A member of the Democratic Party, Durbin has served as the Senate Dem ...
of
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
raised this issue and demanded an investigation of McCallum's role. The Justice Department's
Office of Professional Responsibility The Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR), part of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) and supervised by the FBI, is responsible for investigating lawyers employed by the Department of Justice who have been accused of misconduct ...
found no wrongdoing on McCallum's part. In her 2006 decision in the case, Judge Gladys Kessler placed limits on tobacco companies' abilities to market cigarettes, but found that a previous appeals court ruling prevented her (in the judicial branch) from requiring the industry to pay for a smoking cessation program.


Australia

McCallum had never been to Australia prior to his appointment and had had no previous involvement with the country, or indeed with foreign policy at all. The position of U.S. Ambassador to Australia is traditionally held by friends or political associates of the President, rather than by career diplomats, since Australia is a close ally of the U.S. and the post is considered a highly desirable one. The previous Ambassador,
Tom Schieffer John Thomas Schieffer (born October 4, 1947) is an American diplomat and entrepreneur who served as U.S. Ambassador to Australia from 2001 to 2005 and as U.S. Ambassador to Japan from 2005 to 2009. Schieffer is the founder and President of Envo ...
, was a business associate of President Bush. In an interview with ''
The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatew ...
'', a national daily newspaper, McCallum said that he had been attending seminars on Australian affairs since his appointment. "I feel that rom the seminarsI have got a good grounding in the fundamentals of what is going on in a very, very important relationship to the U.S. with Australia, and I'm eager to learn and experience that firsthand", he said. He said that he would seek to meet and establish close relations with Australian politicians of all parties, including those critical of U.S. policies. McCallum's arrival in Australia ended an 18-month period in which there was no U.S. Ambassador in
Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...
. Following Schieffer's departure to take up the position of Ambassador to
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
in January 2005, the U.S. was represented by a ''Chargé d'Affaires'', Bill Stanton, who also departed Australia before McCallum's appointment. The long delay was caused by the Bush Administration's apparent inability to find a candidate who was suitably close to the President but willing to undergo the scrutiny which accompanies the Senate confirmation process. McCallum announced that he would resign his position following the inauguration of President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
in 2009, to make way for the next U.S ambassador to Australia and—as he was not close with Senators McCain or
Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
—iterated his view that it is important for a US-Australia ambassador have a close relationship with the President. He resigned from the position and left Australia on 20 January 2009.


See also

*
List of United States ambassadors 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 ha ...


References


External links

* *Remarks to the American Health Lawyers Association Meeting, September 30, 2002. * United States Department of Justice recovers record $1.6 billion in fraud payments. * Statement of Assistant Attorney General Robert McCallum Jr. about the Third Circuit Decision issued in ''North Jersey Media Group v. Ashcroft'', October 8, 2002. * Statement of Assistant Attorney General Robert McCallum Jr. following daily arguments in 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund Case, April 14, 2003."Statement of Assistant Attorney General Robert McCallum Jr. following today's arguments in 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund Case"
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{{DEFAULTSORT:McCallum, Robert Davis Jr. 1946 births Living people Ambassadors of the United States to Australia American Rhodes Scholars Choate Rosemary Hall alumni People from Memphis, Tennessee People from Wallingford, Connecticut United States Associate Attorneys General United States Assistant Attorneys General for the Civil Division Yale Law School alumni Yale University alumni