Nelson Cunningham is an American attorney and a Democratic political advisor who served in the presidential administrations of

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

and

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

Early life and education

He spent much of his childhood in

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

, where he became fluent in Spanish. He attended

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

(class of 1980) and

Stanford Law School Stanford Law School (SLS) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Stanford University, a Private university, private research university near Palo Alto, California. Established in 1893, Stanford Law had an acceptance rate of 6.28% i ...

, where he edited the ''

Stanford Law Review The ''Stanford Law Review'' (SLR) is a legal journal produced independently by Stanford Law School students. The journal was established in 1948 with future U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher as its first president. The review produce ...

''.Nelson Cunningham
Truman National Security Project. Retrieved 2010-08-27.Managing Political Risk 2009 - Speaker Biographies
The Fletcher School, Tufts University, 2009. Retrieved 2010-08-27.

Career

After graduating from law school, Cunningham worked for

Hale and Dorr Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, also known as WilmerHale, is an American multinational corporation, multinational law firm with offices in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Co-headquartered in Washington, D.C., and Boston, it was fo ...

, a private law firm in Boston. In 1988, he was hired by

Rudolph Giuliani Rudolph William Louis Giuliani ( , ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and disbarred lawyer who served as the 107th mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney General fr ...

to serve as federal prosecutor in

United States District Court for the Southern District of New York The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (in case citations, S.D.N.Y.) is a federal trial court whose geographic jurisdiction encompasses eight counties of the State of New York. Two of these are in New York Ci ...

. In 1994 and 1995,Cunningham, Nelson

OpenSecrets OpenSecrets is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that tracks and publishes data on campaign finance and lobbying, including a revolving door database which documents the individuals who have worked in both the public sector an ...

he served as General Counsel of the Senate Judiciary Committee under then-chairman

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

.The United States & Colombia: What comes next?
Center for American Progress; biographical note for a July 18, 2006 event. Retrieved 2010-08-27. He served on the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

staff under President

as Special Advisor to the President for Western Hemisphere affairs and advised

John Kerry 2004 presidential campaign The 2004 presidential campaign of John Kerry, the longtime U.S. senator from Massachusetts, began when he formed an exploratory committee on December 1, 2002. On September 2, 2003, he formally announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomina ...

on foreign policy and trade issues. He was also a member of the

Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. Ob ...

–

Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

transition team after their electoral victory in 2008. In 1998, he co-founded Kissinger McLarty Associates (KMA), where he served as managing partner, a role he continues at McLarty Associates, one of the two successors to KMA. McLarty is a Washington, D.C.–based strategic advisory firm that advises companies on government and strategic issues around the world. As of 2009, he serves on several boards, including the Institute of the Americas, the

Business Council for International Understanding The Business Council for International Understanding (BCIU) is an American not-for-profit, nonpartisan, membership organization that encourages dialogue between business and political leaders in different countries. It holds events, briefings and ...

, the

American Security Project The American Security Project (ASP) is a Washington D.C.–based think tank focusing on issues concerning U.S. national security, including maritime security, climate security, energy security, US-Russia relations, US-China relations, pub ...

, and the US-India Business Council. He also chairs the New Democratic Network's Latin America Policy Initiative and is a member of the Yale President's Council on International Activities and the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy of the United State ...

's Advisory Committee on International Economic Policy. After

won the 2020 election, Cunningham was mentioned as a possible appointee for a position within the

Office of the United States Trade Representative The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is an agency of the United States federal government responsible for developing and promoting United States foreign trade policies. Part of the Executive Office of the President, it ...

(USTR). In 2024, President Biden nominated Cunningham for a deputy position at the USTR, however key senators refused to take up his nomination and Cunningham was shifted to a role as an advisor at the Department of State. Before the 2024 election, Cunningham was mentioned as a front-runner for the position of

United States Trade Representative The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is an agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government responsible for developing and promoting Foreign trade of the United States, United States ...

if Democratic nominee

Kamala Harris Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 49th vice president of the United States from 2021 to 2025 under President Joe Biden. She is the first female, first African American, and ...

were to win the election.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cunningham, Nelson Living people Stanford Law School alumni United States presidential advisors Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr people Yale University alumni Year of birth missing (living people)