UNITED STATES
A relatively unknown figure, Robert O’Brien (pictured) has been named by US President, Donald Trump to replace John Bolton as his fourth National Security Adviser.
Mr O’Brien is currently Mr Trump’s Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs, with little experience in Government.
This is likely to mean Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo will take a more influential role in foreign policymaking within the Administration.
Two-and-a half-years into the Trump Administration, Mr Pompeo is the sole foreign policy adviser to have served in the Administration since its beginning — first, as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), then in his current role.
Mr O’Brien enters the White House at a time of turbulence after a series of attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil infrastructure roiled global markets and raised new fears of a confrontation with Iran.
In addition, nuclear talks with North Korea have stalled and a damaging trade war with China shows no sign of ending.
The new National Security Adviser possesses a much lower profile than his three predecessors.
The first, Michael Flynn, rose to prominence as an idiosyncratic critic of the US intelligence community over the course of a prominent military career.
The second, H.R. McMaster, was considered one of the Army’s premier intellects.
The third, Mr Bolton, entered the White House following a decades-long career as a political operative with well-defined, hawkish views often at odds with Mr Trump’s.
Mr O’Brien has no similar experience, and it is unclear whether he will bring any strongly held views to bear on the job.
The most prominent line on his résumé is as Mr Trump’s Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs, a job he has held since May 2018.
A successful trial lawyer in Los Angeles, Mr O’Brien served in several minor roles in the George W. Bush Administration, including as an alternative US representative to the UN General Assembly in 2005.
Washington, DC, 18 September 2019
