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.