Greg Craig | |
---|---|
White House Counsel | |
In office January 20, 2009 – January 3, 2010 |
|
President | Barack Obama |
Preceded by | Fred Fielding |
Succeeded by | Bob Bauer |
Director of Policy Planning | |
In office July 10, 1997 – September 16, 1998 |
|
President | Bill Clinton |
Preceded by | Jim Steinberg |
Succeeded by | Morton Halperin |
Personal details | |
Born |
Gregory Bestor Craig March 4, 1945 Norfolk, Virginia, U.S. |
Political party | Democratic |
Education |
Harvard University (BA) Emmanuel College, Cambridge (MA) Yale University (JD) |
Gregory Bestor "Greg" Craig (born March 4, 1945) is an American lawyer and former White House Counsel under President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2010. A former attorney at the Washington, D.C. law firm of Williams & Connolly, Craig has represented numerous high-profile clients. Prior to becoming White House Counsel, Craig served as assistant to the President and special counsel in the White House of President Bill Clinton, where he directed the team defending Clinton against impeachment. Craig also served as a senior advisor to Senator Edward Kennedy and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.
Craig was born in Norfolk, Virginia, on March 4, 1945. Craig's father, William Gregory Craig (1914–2005), was a Navy officer who served in World War II and after the war served as chancellor the Vermont State Colleges system (1973–1976), chancellor of the California Community College system (1977–1980), and president of the Monterey Institute (1980–1988). The elder Craig unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for governor of Vermont. The younger considers Vermont his home state; he grew up as one of four boys in Middlebury, Vermont. He spent some of his early years in Palo Alto, California.
Craig attended Philips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire. He then attended Harvard, graduating with an A.B. in 1967. At Harvard, Craig sang with the Krokodiloes, Harvard's oldest all-male a cappella group. Craig graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a concentration in history. His senior thesis was on Upton Sinclair's campaigns during the Great Depression. Craig was elected chairman of the Harvard Undergraduate Council during his senior year. During his time at Harvard, Craig became familiar with prominent faculty members, including Henry Kissinger. During this period, Craig registered black voters in Mississippi, tutored children in Harlem and "became Harvard's most widely quoted student leader in opposition to the Vietnam War."