Robert Mueller
was nominated by President George W. Bush and became
the sixth Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
on September 4, 2001.
Mr. Mueller
was born in New York City and grew up outside of Philadelphia.
He graduated from Princeton University in 1966 and earned
a masters degree in International Relations at New York
University in 1967.
He then joined
the United States Marine Corps, where he served as an
officer for three years, leading a rifle platoon of the
Third Marine Division in Vietnam. He is the recipient
of the Bronze Star, two Navy Commendation Medals, the
Purple Heart, and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry.
Following his
military service, Mr. Mueller earned a law degree from
the University of Virginia Law School in 1973 and served
on the Law Review.
After completing
his education, Mr. Mueller worked as a litigator in San
Francisco until 1976. He then served for 12 years in
United States Attorney's Offices, first in the Northern
District of California in San Francisco, where he rose
to be chief of its criminal division. In 1982, he moved
to Boston as an Assistant United States Attorney where
he investigated and prosecuted major financial fraud,
terrorist and public corruption cases, as well as narcotics
conspiracies and international money launderers.
After serving
as a partner at the Boston law firm of Hill and Barlow,
Mr. Mueller was again called to public service. In 1989
he served in the United States Department of Justice
as an assistant to Attorney General Richard L. Thornburgh.
The following year he took charge of its Criminal Division.
During his tenure, he oversaw prosecutions, including
the conviction of Panama leader Manuel Noriega, the Lockerbie
Pan Am 103 bombing case, and the John Gotti mobster prosecution.
In 1991, he was elected Fellow of the American College
of Trial Lawyers.
In 1993, Mr. Mueller became a partner at Boston's Hale and Dorr, specializing
in complex white collar crime litigation. He returned to public service in
1995 as senior litigator in the Homicide Section of the District of Columbia
United States Attorney's Office. In 1998, Mr. Mueller was named United States
Attorney in San Francisco and held that position until 2001. He then served
as Acting Deputy Attorney General of the United States Department of Justice
for several months, before becoming FBI Director.
Mr. Mueller
and his wife Ann have two daughters.