Stephen John Hadley was born in Toledo, Ohio. He received a bachelor's degree from Cornell University in 1969 and a law degree from Yale University in 1972. Hadley served in the office of the comptroller of the Department of Defense from 1972 to 1974 and was then appointed as a staff member of the National Security Council in the administration of President Gerald R. Ford. He was recalled to government service during the administration of Ronald W. Reagan as a counsel during the Iran-Contra crisis. From 1989 to 1993, Hadley served as the assistant secretary of defense for international policy, responsible for U.S. policy toward the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and Western Europe. Hadley also developed recommendations on arms control policy and advised Secretary of Defense Richard B. Cheney during negotiations on the first Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START I).

After he left office in 1993, Hadley became a political consultant and a partner in the Washington, D.C., law firm of Shea & Gardner. Hadley was a security advisor to Bush during the 2000 presidential campaign, and Cheney chose him to serve on the transition team after Bush was elected. Hadley was then appointed the deputy national security advisor to Condoleezza Rice. He worked to coordinate intelligence during Operation Enduring Freedom and developed policy recommendations for Rice. Hadley helped formulate the policy of preemption known as the Bush Doctrine to forestall terrorist attacks using weapons of mass destruction. In 2002, Hadley was responsible for allowing questionable intelligence on Iraq's pursuit of nuclear weapons to be cited in Bush's State of the Union address. Hadley took responsibility for the mistake and later offered his resignation to Bush, who declined the offer. Bush liked and trusted Hadley and relied on his analysis of security threats and proliferation issues.

When Rice was appointed secretary of state in 2005, Hadley was chosen to replace her. Hadley differed from Rice in that he preferred to remain behind the scenes and keep a low profile. Nonetheless, his relationship with Rice and Cheney has made Hadley one of the more influential national security advisors.

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