Michael Richard Pompeo was born on December 30, 1963, in Orange, California. He attended the United States Military Academy at West Point and graduated first in his class with a degree in mechanical engineering in 1986. He then served in Europe as cavalry officer and eventually became a captain. After five years in the military, Pompeo returned to college at Harvard Law School and received a Juris Doctor in 1994.

After graduation, Pompeo became a lawyer for the Williams and Connolly firm in Washington, DC. He then moved to Wichita, Kansas, and started an aerospace company called Thayer Aerospace. In 2006, he sold his interest in Thayer Aerospace and became the president of Sentry International, an oilfield equipment manufacturer. Pompeo stayed affiliated with the company until 2017 when he was appointed the head of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

Pompeo’s governmental career started in 2010, when he won Kansas’s 4th District congressional seat as a Republican. He was served three terms in the House and was a member of the Tea Party caucus. During his term in office, Pompeo was a popular figure in Kansas. He was a member of the Congressional Constitution Caucus, as well as the US House Committee on Intelligence and the Committee on Energy and Commerce.

President Donald Trump nominated Pompeo as the CIA Director on November 18, 2016. The US Senate confirmed him on January 23, 2017. Pompeo used his position to focus on relations with Saudi Arabia and Turkey, traveling to both countries to create a positive relationship. He also helped create relations with North Korea and its leader Kim Jong-un.

President Trump then nominated Pompeo to succeed Rex Tillerson as the Secretary of State on March 13, 2018, and he was sworn in on April 26.