Stephen Geoffrey Rademaker (born 1959) is an attorney,

lobbyist In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying, which ...

, and former Bush Administration government official.

Education

Rademaker attended the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...

where he received a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

(1981) in Foreign Affairs, a J.D. (1984), and an

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

in Foreign Affairs (1985). He was a member of

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...

, the

Jefferson Literary and Debating Society The Jefferson Literary and Debating Society (commonly known "Jeff Soc") is the oldest continuously existing collegiate debating society in North America, having been founded on July 14, 1825, in Room Seven, West Lawn. Named after founder of the U ...

, and president of the Student Council during his time at the university.

Career

Rademaker was an associate at the

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, ...

law firm of

Covington & Burling Covington & Burling LLP is an American multinational law firm. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the firm advises clients on transactional, litigation, regulatory, and public policy matters. In 2021, Vault.com ranked Covington & Burling as ...

1984 to 1986, and in 1986 a law clerk to James L. Buckley of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. From 1986 to 1987, he served as counsel to the Vice Chairman of the U.S. International Trade Commission. From 1987 to 1989, Stephen served as a Special Assistant to the

Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs The Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs is the head of the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs within the United States Department of State, the foreign affairs department of the United States federal government. The Assi ...

. From 1989 to 1992, Rademaker held a joint appointment as Associate Counsel to the President in the Office of Counsel to the President and as Deputy Legal Adviser to the National Security Council. From 1992 to 1993, Stephen served as General Counsel of the

Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to provide international development assistance. It was established in March 1961 by an executive order of President John F ...

. For most of the following decade, he held positions on the staff of the Committee on International Relations of the House of Representatives, including Minority Chief Counsel (1993-1995), Chief Counsel (1995-2001), and Deputy Staff Director and Chief Counsel (2001-2002). He returned briefly to the Peace Corps in 2000-2001 as the Bush-Cheney Transition's Director of Transition for the Peace Corps. In 2002, he was Chief Counsel to the Select Committee on Homeland Security of the U.S. House of Representatives, where he was responsible for drafting the legislation that created the

Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior or home ministries of other countries. Its stated missions involve anti-terr ...

. Later that year, he was confirmed by 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 ...

as the

Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Nonproliferation #REDIRECT Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Nonproliferation {{R from other capitalisation ...

, serving until May 2006. After leaving the public sector, Rademaker joined Barbour, Griffith, and Rogers in January 2007. In February 2011, Rademaker left the firm and joined the

Podesta Group The Podesta Group was a lobbying and public affairs firm based in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1988 by brothers John and Tony Podesta and has previously been known as Podesta Associates, podesta.com and PodestaMattoon. John Podesta left ...

. In 2020

listed him as senior of counsel.

Personal life

Rademaker is married to Danielle Pletka, the vice president for foreign and defense policy studies at the

American Enterprise Institute The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, known simply as the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), is a center-right Washington, D.C.–based think tank that researches government, politics, economics, and social welfare. A ...

. Rademaker has four children.

References

External links

Podesta Group
bio

bio

bio
Covington & Burling
bio {{DEFAULTSORT:Rademaker, Stephen 1959 births Living people United States Assistant Secretaries of State George W. Bush administration personnel Lawyers from Washington, D.C. University of Virginia School of Law alumni