Biden National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan To Join Harvard Kennedy School Faculty in April

Former U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan will join the Harvard Kennedy School as the inaugural Kissinger Professor of the Practice of Statecraft and World Order on April 1, according to an email obtained by The Crimson.

Sullivan, who served as national security adviser under Joe Biden’s presidency, steered the past four years of U.S. foreign policy, navigating the outbreak of Russia’s war in Ukraine and intensifying competition with China.

Now, Sullivan is one of many Biden administration officials seeking gigs at think tanks and in academia after Democrats’ ouster from the White House.

A Harvard Kennedy School spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sullivan’s appointment Tuesday afternoon.

During his time in Washington, Sullivan — once a Hillary Clinton protegee — adopted a populist approach, aiming to adjust U.S. foreign policy to domestic frustration with long-running wars and shifting the Biden administration’s focus away from the Middle East.

Early in his tenure, Sullivan came under fire for the Biden administration’s much-maligned withdrawal from Afghanistan. By September 2021, as the Afghan government collapsed, officials on both sides of the aisle called for Sullivan’s resignation, though Biden stood firmly behind his national security adviser.

But Sullivan soon faced another crisis when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Sullivan prioritized keeping American soldiers out of the war, but he was also the public voice behind U.S. military aid to Ukraine. As Biden prepared to depart the White House, Sullivan helped him push through a last wave of weapons shipments — and participated in discussions that authorized the secret delivery of long-range missile systems.

Sullivan also worked in the background to develop multilateral relationships across Asia and check Chinese influence.

He was especially concerned about winning the technology race against the rising superpower, implementing limitations on Chinese access to semiconductors and artificial intelligence technology.

In his final days as national security adviser, Sullivan helped negotiate a ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas. Though Sullivan joined Biden and other officials in opposing the Israeli incursion into Rafah last spring, he privately cautioned Biden against placing conditions on aid to Israel.

After Biden left office, Sullivan was one of several former officials whose security clearances were revoked by the Trump administration.

Sullivan — the youngest national security adviser in 60 years — has an elite academic record. He attended Yale University as an undergrad, where he was the editor-in-chief of the Yale Daily News and a national debater. His resume also includes a Rhodes Scholarship, a degree from Yale Law School, and a clerkship with Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer.

He rose quickly through the ranks of Democratic leadership, working for Hillary Clinton during her 2008 campaign and later as deputy chief of staff in her State Department. In that role, Sullivan helped lay the groundwork for the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

After a brief stint during Obama’s second term as then-Vice President Biden’s national security adviser, he returned to Clinton, working as a senior policy adviser on her 2016 campaign. He briefly served as a senior fellow at HKS’ Future of Diplomacy Project after Clinton’s loss.

When Biden announced Sullivan’s nomination as his national security adviser in 2023, he described Sullivan as a “once-in-a-generation intellect.”

Sullivan “understands my vision that economic security is national security,” Biden said during remarks in Wilmington, Delaware.

—Staff writer Elise A. Spenner can be reached at elise.spenner@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X at @EliseSpenner.