Theodore Olson | |
---|---|
42nd Solicitor General of the United States | |
In office June 11, 2001 – July 14, 2004 | |
President | George W. Bush |
Preceded by | Seth P. Waxman |
Succeeded by | Paul Clement |
United States Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel | |
In office 1981–1984 | |
President | Ronald Reagan |
Preceded by | John Harmon |
Succeeded by | Charles Cooper |
Personal details | |
Born | Theodore Bevry Olson September 11, 1940 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
Died | November 13, 2024 Fairfax, Virginia, U.S. | (aged 84)
Political party | Republican |
Spouse(s) | Karen Beatie
(m. 1964; div. 1987) Jolie Bales
(m. 1989; div. 1991)Lady Evelyn Booth (m. 2006) |
Education | University of the Pacific UC Berkeley School of Law |
Theodore Bevry Olson (September 11, 1940 – November 13, 2024) was an American lawyer. Olson served as United States Solicitor General under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2004.[1] He was known for defending same sex marriage and undocumented immigrant children during his legal career.[2] Some of the cases he defended were for liberal causes, despite being a Republican.[2]
In March 2018, Olson turned down an offer to represent Donald Trump in the probe of Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections.[3]
Olson's third wife, Barbara Kay Olson (née Bracher), an attorney and conservative commentator, was a passenger on the hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 that crashed into the Pentagon on September 11, 2001.[4] She planned to leave to California on after celebrating Olson's birthday[5]
Olson died at a hospital from a stroke in Fairfax, Virginia, on November 13, 2024, at the age of 84.[6][2]