Stephen J. Yates is an American

political advisor Political consulting is a form of consulting that consists primarily of advising and assisting political campaigns. Although the most important role of political consultants is arguably the development and production of mass media (largely televisi ...

and

government official An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless of whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority (either their own or that of th ...

who last served as the president of

Radio Free Asia Radio Free Asia (RFA) is a news service that publishes online news, information, commentary and broadcasts radio programs for its audiences in Asia. The service, which provides editorially independent reporting, has the stated mission of pro ...

. He previously served as the deputy national security adviser to the Vice President to

Dick Cheney Richard Bruce Cheney ( ; born January 30, 1941) is an American former politician and businessman who served as the 46th vice president of the United States from 2001 to 2009 under President George W. Bush. He has been called vice presidency o ...

from 2001 to 2005 and chairman of the

Idaho Republican Party The Idaho Republican Party (IDGOP) is the Idaho state affiliate of the Republican Party (United States), United States Republican Party, headquartered in Boise, Idaho, Boise. It is currently the dominant party in the state, controlling both of I ...

from 2014 to 2017.John Sowell, Idaho Statesman. "Idaho Republican Party Chairman Will Step down, May Run for Lieutenant Governor." ''Idaho Statesman, The (Boise, ID)'', 2017. He has been the CEO of consulting firm DC International Advisory since 2006.

Early life and education

Yates attended

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

and served as a

Mormon missionary Missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church)—often referred to as Mormon missionaries—are volunteer representatives of the church who engage variously in proselytizing, church service, humanitarian aid, and ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

from 1987 to 1989. He speaks fluent Mandarin and his Chinese name is "葉望輝" (''Yè Wànghuī''). He obtained a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in Chinese language and literature from the

University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD i ...

and a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) 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. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in Chinese studies from the

Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies The School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) is a graduate school of Johns Hopkins University based in Washington, D.C. The school also maintains campuses in Bologna, Italy and Nanjing, China. The school is devoted to the study of int ...

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

Career

Yates worked for the

National Security Agency The National Security Agency (NSA) is an intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the director of national intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collection, and proces ...

under the

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and superv ...

; he served as a liaison officer to the Department of Commerce.Bill Dentzer, Idaho Statesman. "Steve Yates' Curious Journey from Taiwan to Idaho Falls, via the White House." ''Idaho Statesman, The (Boise, ID)'', 2016. He was a senior policy analyst at

The Heritage Foundation The Heritage Foundation (or simply Heritage) is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1973, it took a leading role in the conservative movement in the 1980s during the Presi ...

from 1996 to 2001, and served as deputy national security advisor to the Vice President to

from 2001 to 2005. From 2005 to 2006, Yates served as a lobbyist and vice president of the global affairs practice for Barbour Griffith & Rogers, whose clients included Taiwan, the Indonesian National Shipowners' Association, Moneygram International, Lebanon's National Dialogue Party, and the Republic of India British Nuclear Fuels, Plc. (via a contract with Sutherland Asbill & Brennan). Yates is the founder and

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

at DC International Advisory since 2006, a consulting firm advises on managing international political risk and business opportunity. He is also a professor of the practice with the International Business Program at

Boise State University Boise State University (BSU) is a Public university, public research university in Boise, Idaho, United States. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has b ...

. Currently, he is a distinguished Fellow at the Hamilton Foundation. Yates served as a senior fellow and chair of the China Policy Initiative at the

America First Policy Institute The America First Policy Institute (AFPI) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit think tank that was founded in 2021 to promote Donald Trump's public policy agenda. Greg Sindelar became the organization's interim president and CEO in March 2025. AFPI was ...

from 2022 to 2024 before returning to the Heritage Foundation as a senior research fellow.

Political career

Yates advised the 2000 Bush-Cheney campaign's Asia team. He served in the 2008 Rudy Giuliani presidential campaign as a senior Asia adviser. He served in the 2012 Newt Gingrich presidential campaign as a part of the National Security Advisory team and director. He briefly ran for

national committeeman at the July 2020 convention.

Idaho Republican Party chair

Yates was elected chairman of the

in August 2014 and was re elected in 2016; he stepped down on April 24, 2017, to pursue the 2018 Idaho lieutenant gubernatorial primary election. David Johnston (2014–2017) and Lyndel Strong (2017) were the executive directors.

Idaho lieutenant governor primary election, 2018

Yates sought and lost narrowly the 2018 Republican nomination for

lieutenant governor of Idaho The Lieutenant governor (United States), lieutenant governor of Idaho is a constitutional statewide elected office in the U.S. state of Idaho. According to the Idaho Constitution, the officeholder is elected to a four-year term. The current lieu ...

Janice McGeachin Janice Kyes McGeachin (; born January 18, 1963) is an American politician and businesswoman who served as the 43rd lieutenant governor of Idaho from 2019 to 2023. A member of the Republican Party, she was previously a member of the Idaho House o ...

. Days before the election, a flyer attacking Yates was mailed to Idaho voters, claiming hidden foreign influence and conflating support from democratic Taiwan with that from communist China. The flyer mailing was sourced to a

PAC Pac or PAC may refer to: Aviation * IATA code PAC Albrook "Marcos A. Gelabert" International Airport in Panama City, Panama * Pacific Aerospace Corporation, New Zealand, manufacturer of aircraft: ** PAC 750XL ** PAC Cresco ** PAC CT/4 ** PA ...

funded by three political opponents from Yates' past.

Radio Free Asia

In December 2020, Yates was appointed by

Michael Pack Michael L. Pack is an American documentary filmmaker who was CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) from June 2020 to January 2021. Pack was nominated by President Donald Trump and took office at USAGM in June 2020 after Senate confirma ...

as the president of

, a government–funded, nonprofit international broadcasting corporation. In January 2021, he and other leaders associated with the prior presidential administration were fired by Pack's successor, acting CEO of U.S. Agency for Global Media, Kelu Chao.

Personal life

Yates and his ex-wife Diana Kilbourn adopted two children.

Election history

References

External links

* *
Yates for Idaho
campaign website
D.C. International Advisory
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yates, Stephen J. Living people Brigham Young University alumni University of Maryland, College Park alumni Johns Hopkins University alumni Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies alumni Boise State University faculty Idaho Republicans 21st-century Idaho politicians 20th-century Mormon missionaries American Mormon missionaries in Taiwan Latter Day Saints from Maryland Latter Day Saints from Idaho Year of birth missing (living people)