Gretchen Smith Bolton is an American famed personality who is best known as the wife of John Bolton, who is an American attorney, diplomat, Republican consultant, and political commentator. He served as the 25th United States Ambassador to the United Nations from 2005 to 2006, and as the 26th United States National Security Advisor from 2018 to 2019.
In the early 1980s, Bolton worked as an Assistant United States Attorney General for President Ronald Reagan. From 1989 to 1993, he was an Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs in the Department of State. He served as Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs from 2001 to 2005 in the George W. Bush administration before being appointed ambassador to the United Nations by Donald Trump. Who Is Gretchen Smith Bolton, John Bolton’s Wife?
Who Is Gretchen Smith Bolton?
Bolton married Christina Bolton in 1972; they divorced in 1983. Since January 1986, he has been married to Gretchen Smith Bolton, a financial planner with AXA Advisors. She was born in Kansas City in 1945 and had been divorced previously, in 1973. They have a daughter, Jennifer, and live in Bethesda, Maryland. Mr. Bolton is Lutheran.
Gretchen Smith Bolton’s Husband: John Bolton
Bolton was born on November 20, 1948, in Baltimore, Maryland, to Virginia Clara “Ginny”, a housewife, and Edward Jackson “Jack” Bolton, a Baltimore City fireman. He attended the McDonogh School in Owings Mills, Maryland, graduating in 1966 after winning a scholarship. In 1964 he ran the Students for Goldwater campaign at his former school.
After attending Yale University, where he received a B.A. and cum laude in 1970, Bolton earned a J.D. from Yale Law School in 1974, having studied with his friend Clarence Thomas during that time period. In 1972, Bolton was an intern for Vice President Spiro Agnew over the summer. He was hired for the position by David Keene.
John Bolton Career Explored
John Bolton was a proponent of the Vietnam War, but he avoided combat by enrolling in the Maryland Air National Guard and delaying his education. Bolton got number 185 in the 1969 Vietnam War draft lottery. Because of the Johnson and Nixon administrations’ decisions to rely heavily on conscription instead than reserve forces, joining a Guard or Reserve unit became an opportunity to reduce your chances of serving in Vietnam.
Bolton joined the Maryland National Guard rather than waiting to see if his draft number was called after graduating from Yale in 1970. From July to November 1970, he went through Active Duty for Training (ADT) at Fort Polk, Louisiana. He served in the United States Army Reserve until the end of his enlistment two years later after four years with the National Guard.