# Nelson Cunningham > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Nelson_Cunningham > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Nelson_Cunningham.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_Cunningham > Source revision: 1264107488 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) **Nelson Cunningham** is an American attorney and a [Democratic](/source/Democratic_Party_(United_States)) political advisor who served in the presidential administrations of [Bill Clinton](/source/Bill_Clinton) and [Barack Obama](/source/Barack_Obama). ## Early life and education He spent much of his childhood in [Latin America](/source/Latin_America), where he became fluent in Spanish.[1] He attended [Yale University](/source/Yale_University) (class of 1980) and [Stanford Law School](/source/Stanford_Law_School), where he edited the *[Stanford Law Review](/source/Stanford_Law_Review)*.[2][3] ## Career After graduating from law school, Cunningham worked for [Hale and Dorr](/source/Hale_and_Dorr), a private law firm in Boston.[4] In 1988,[citation needed] he was hired by [Rudolph Giuliani](/source/Rudolph_Giuliani) to serve as federal prosecutor in [United States District Court for the Southern District of New York](/source/United_States_District_Court_for_the_Southern_District_of_New_York).[5] In 1994 and 1995,[6] he served as General Counsel of the Senate Judiciary Committee under then-chairman [Joe Biden](/source/Joe_Biden).[7] He served on the [White House](/source/White_House) staff under President [Bill Clinton](/source/Bill_Clinton) as Special Advisor to the President for Western Hemisphere affairs and advised [John Kerry 2004 presidential campaign](/source/John_Kerry_2004_presidential_campaign) on foreign policy and trade issues. He was also a member of the [Obama](/source/Barack_Obama)–[Biden](/source/Joe_Biden) transition team after their electoral victory in 2008.[8] In 1998, he co-founded [Kissinger McLarty Associates](/source/Kissinger_McLarty_Associates) (KMA), where he served as managing partner, a role he continues at McLarty Associates, one of the two successors to KMA. McLarty is a Washington, D.C.–based strategic advisory firm that advises companies on government and strategic issues around the world. As of 2009, he serves on several boards, including the Institute of the Americas, the [Business Council for International Understanding](/source/Business_Council_for_International_Understanding), the [American Security Project](/source/American_Security_Project), and the [US-India Business Council](/source/US-India_Business_Council). He also chairs the [New Democratic Network](/source/New_Democratic_Network)'s Latin America Policy Initiative and is a member of the Yale President's Council on International Activities and the [United States Department of State](/source/United_States_Department_of_State)'s Advisory Committee on International Economic Policy.[3] After [Joe Biden](/source/Joe_Biden) won the [2020 election](/source/2020_United_States_presidential_election), Cunningham was mentioned as a possible appointee for a position within the [Office of the United States Trade Representative](/source/Office_of_the_United_States_Trade_Representative) (USTR).[9] In 2024, President Biden nominated Cunningham for a deputy position at the USTR, however key senators refused to take up his nomination and Cunningham was shifted to a role as an advisor at the Department of State.[10] Before the [2024 election](/source/2024_United_States_presidential_election), Cunningham was mentioned as a front-runner for the position of [United States Trade Representative](/source/United_States_Trade_Representative) if Democratic nominee [Kamala Harris](/source/Kamala_Harris) were to win the election.[10] ## Notes 1. Politico Staff (29 October 2018). ["BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: Nelson Cunningham, president and co-founder of McLarty Associates"](https://politi.co/2Q1blyz). *POLITICO*. Retrieved 2020-11-08. 1. [Nelson Cunningham](http://www.trumanproject.org/about/people/senior-fellows/nelson-cunningham), Truman National Security Project. Retrieved 2010-08-27. 1. [Managing Political Risk 2009 - Speaker Biographies](http://fletcher.tufts.edu/politicalrisk09/speakers.shtml), The Fletcher School, Tufts University, 2009. Retrieved 2010-08-27. 1. [Reputation](http://www.wilmerhale.com/about/recognition/), Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP (successor firm to Hale and Dorr). Retrieved 2010-08-27. 1. ["POLITICO: Nelson W. Cunningham on Bob Mueller's White Hot Summer"](https://maglobal.com/politico-nelson-w-cunningham-on-bob-muellers-white-hot-summer/). *McLarty Associates*. 2018-05-29. Retrieved 2020-11-08. 1. [Cunningham, Nelson](http://www.opensecrets.org/revolving/rev_summary.php?id=70798), [OpenSecrets](/source/OpenSecrets) 1. [The United States & Colombia: What comes next?](http://www.americanprogress.org/events/2006/7/b593305ct2755619.html), Center for American Progress; biographical note for a July 18, 2006 event. Retrieved 2010-08-27. 1. [Cunningham, Nelson](http://www.opensecrets.org/revolving/rev_summary.php?id=70798), [OpenSecrets](/source/OpenSecrets), gives the dates 1995-98, and erroneously refers to the position as "Senate Executive Office of the President Committee" rather than "Executive Office of the President". [Cunningham's own page](http://www.linkedin.com/pub/nelson-cunningham/9/a/a98) on [LinkedIn](/source/LinkedIn), retrieved 2010-08-27, says he served as "Special Advisor to the President, Office of Special Envoy for the Americas" in 1997–1998 1. Forrest, Maura (4 November 2020). ["Canada's stakes in Biden vs. Trump"](https://politi.co/2HU07NN). *POLITICO*. Retrieved 2020-11-08. 1. Politico Staff (October 19, 2024). ["Who might make up Harris' Cabinet"](https://www.politico.com/interactives/2024/potential-cabinets/harris-who-could-be-in-cabinet/#Secretary%20of%20State). *Politico*. Retrieved 1 November 2024. --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Nelson Cunningham](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_Cunningham) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_Cunningham?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.