Eugene R. Sullivan

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Eugene R. Sullivan is a former chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals (Armed Forces). He was nominated to the Court by President Ronald Reagan, confirmed by the U.S. Senate and installed in 1986; George H.W. Bush named him chief judge in 1990. He was elevated to senior status Federal Judge in 2002.

Sullivan was born in St. Louis, Missouri and is a graduate of the United States Military Academy in 1964. He was a United States Army officer for five years, qualifying as an Airborne Ranger, a Ranger Instructor, and a jumpmaster. He was awarded the Bronze Star, the Air Medal, and other decorations in Vietnam. In 2006, he was made a Distinguished member of the Ranger Training Brigade.

After his Army service, he went on to attend the Georgetown University Law Center, and was an editor of the Georgetown Law Journal in his senior year.

After graduating from law school, he was a clerk for the Hon. M.C. Matthes, Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, and was also in private practice with Patton Boggs LLP (of Washington, D.C.)

During the Watergate investigation in 1974, Sullivan was a member of President Richard Nixon's legal defense team. He was then a trial attorney for the Department of Justice from 1974 to 1982. From 1982 until his Senate confirmation as a federal judge in 1986, he held several positions, including the General Counsel of the United States Air Force, the General Counsel of the National Reconnaissance Office, and (from 1984 to 1986 was the Governor of Wake Island, a U.S. overseas possession.

After attaining senior status as a judge, Sullivan founded the Gavel Consulting Group, which is comprised of former federal judges (most of whom have held additional high government office.) A Washington Post article pointed out that Sullivan's interest in a private company such as this could conflict with federal laws that prohibit judges from profiting from their office. Sullivan responded that he was no longer in active status as a judge and thet this activity was permitted under the Federal statute governing his Court. The article also noted that Sullivan is the firm's sole owner, whereas the other members are "advisers" who have no ownership stake. ^[1]

Sullivan has been a board member of Duke University's Center on Law, Ethics and National Security. He is the author of The Majority Rules (2004), a political thriller that includes the U.S. federal court in its plot.