For Immediate Release
DHS Press Office
Contact: 202-282-8010
“I want to thank Mark Sullivan for his nearly seven years as Director of the United States Secret Service, 29 years of service to five presidents and 34 years of service to the country in law enforcement. His commitment to keeping our country and its top officials safe is unparalleled, and his devotion to the mission of the Secret Service and Department of Homeland Security has been unwavering.
Director Sullivan began his Secret Service career as a Special Agent assigned to the Detroit Field Office in 1983, after serving for three years as a special agent in the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Housing and Urban Development. From there, he served in the Secret Service’s Fraud Division, twice in the Presidential Protective Division, the Office of Protective Operations, the Columbus Resident Office, the Counterfeit Division, the Vice-Presidential Protective Division, and Office of Human Resources and Training, before being named Deputy Director in January 2006 and subsequently sworn in as the 22nd Director of the United States Secret Service on May 31, 2006.
During his tenure, Director Sullivan achieved a multitude of key leadership benchmarks, including promoting the Secret Service Uniformed Division Modernization Act, which enhanced the ability of the Service to recruit and retain Uniformed Division officers in their critical role of protecting the nation’s highest elected officials; initiating the Former Presidents Protection Act, which amends the federal criminal code to eliminate certain limitations on the length of Secret Service protection for former presidents and their spouses and children; as well as overseeing the complete overhaul of the Secret Service IT Modernization and Operation Mission Support, which enhanced White House security. He also led the effort to create the National Computer Forensic Institute in Hoover, Ala. and established numerous overseas field offices to build trusted partnerships between all levels of law enforcement. Director Sullivan earned the Distinguished Presidential Rank Award in 2005 and 2010.
Mark Sullivan epitomizes the term “public service,” and has devoted his life to the safety of our First Families, our nation’s leaders, and the public at large. I am deeply grateful for his contributions to DHS, the Secret Service and our country, and I congratulate him on his exceptional career. I wish him and his family the very best in his retirement. Director Sullivan will be missed.”
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