US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday, 18 September, that he is naming hostage negotiator Robert O'Brien as his new national security advisor (NSA).
Trump tweeted the announcement from California, while on the third and final day of a West Coast fundraising swing.
The announcement of O'Brien's selection comes a week after the Republican President ousted John Bolton from the national security advisor's post, citing policy disagreements.
Bolton was Trump's third national security advisor. O'Brien was among five job candidates Trump said on Tuesday were under consideration.
Who Is Robert O'Brien?
As the special presidential envoy for hostage affairs at the State Department, O'Brien worked closely with the families of American hostages and advised administration officials on hostage issues.
He previously helped lead the department's public-private partnership for justice reform in Afghanistan during the Bush and Obama administrations.
From 2008 through 2011, O'Brien was a presidentially appointed member of a government committee that advises on issues related to the trafficking of antiquities and other cultural items.
In 2005, President George W Bush nominated O’Brien to be US Representative to the UN General Assembly, where he worked with Bolton. O’Brien was confirmed by the Senate.
He also was an advisor on the Republican presidential campaigns of former Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin, former Governor Mitt Romney of Massachusetts and Senator Ted Cruz of Texas.
Earlier in his career, O'Brien was a senior legal officer for the UN Security Council commission that decided claims against Iraq that arose from the Gulf War. He was a major in the US Army Reserve.
O'Brien has a law degree from the University of California-Berkeley and co-founded a law firm in Los Angeles focused on litigation and international arbitration issues.
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