Jarrett was born inShiraz, Iran, duringthe Shah's rule, to American parentsJames E. Bowman andBarbara T. Bowman. Her father, a pathologist and geneticist, worked at a hospital in Shiraz in 1956. When she was five years old, the family moved toLondon for a year, later moving toChicago in 1962.[6][7]
As a child, Jarrett spokePersian,French, and English.[10] Her mother was one of four children's advocates who created theErikson Institute in 1966. The institute was established to expand collective knowledge ofchild development for teachers and other professionals working with young children.[11]
Jarrett got her start inChicago politics in 1987 working forMayorHarold Washington[13] as deputy corporation counsel for finance and development.[14]
Jarrett continued to work in theChicago mayor's office in the 1990s. She was deputy chief of staff for MayorRichard Daley, during which time (1991) she hiredMichelle Robinson (who was then engaged toBarack Obama) fromSidley Austin.[15][16] Jarrett served as commissioner of the department of planning and development from 1991 through 1995,[17] and she was chairwoman of theChicago Transit Authority from 1995 to 2003.[18]
From 1995 to 2009, Jarrett was the CEO of The Habitat Company, a real estate development and management company.[19] She was replaced as CEO by Mark Sega when she joined the Obama administration. Daniel E. Levin was the chairman of Habitat, which was formed in 1971.[20] Jarrett was a member of the board ofChicago Stock Exchange (2000–2007, as chairman, 2004–2007).
Obama speaks to Jarrett and other staff, August 2009Barack Obama and Valerie Jarrett converse in the Blue Room, White House, 2010
Jarrett was President Obama's longest serving advisor, confidante and was "widely tipped for a high-profile position in an Obama administration". The Wall Street Journal's Douglas Belkin was quoted saying[24][25][26]
UnlikeBert Lance, who arrived fromGeorgia with President[Jimmy] Carter and became his budget director, orKaren Hughes, who was President[George W.] Bush's communications manager, Ms. Jarrett isn't a confidante with a particular portfolio. What she does share with these counterparts is a fierce sense of loyalty and a refusal to publicly say anything that may reflect poorly on the candidate—or steal his thunder.[24]
She said that the 2011 reportWomen in America, which the administration produced for the Council on Women and Girls, would be used to guide policy-making.[31]
Jarrett had a staff of approximately three dozen and received full-timeSecret Service protection.[32] Jarrett's role as both a friend of the Obamas and as senior advisor in the White House was controversial: in his memoirsRobert M. Gates, formersecretary of defense, discussed his objection to her involvement in foreign security affairs;[33]David Axelrod reported in his memoirs aboutRahm Emanuel's attempts to have her selected as Obama's replacement in the senate, due to concerns about the difficulty in working with a family friend in a major policy role.[34]
President Obama speaks with Jarrett in a West Wing corridor
In 1991, as deputy chief of staff to Mayor Richard Daley, Jarrett interviewed Michelle Robinson, the then-fiancé to future President Barack Obama, for an opening in the mayor's office. She immediately offered Robinson the job afterwards.[38] Robinson asked for time to think and also asked Jarrett to meet Obama. Robinson accepted the job with the mayor's office after meeting for dinner. It was at this time that Jarrett reportedly took the couple under her wing and "introduced them to a wealthier and better-connected Chicago than their own."[39] When Jarrett later left her position at the mayor's office to head the Chicago department of planning and development, Michelle Obama went with her.
Obama's election team and supporters, for example at the Philadelphia National Constitution Center speech, included Valerie Jarrett, David Plouffe and David Axelrod, all whom later joined him and First Lady Michelle Obama in the White House.[40]
She served as the co-chair of the United State of Women,[47] chair of the Board of When We All Vote and Civic Nation,[48][49] and a senior advisor toATTN:.[50] In January 2018 she became a distinguished senior fellow at theUniversity of Chicago Law School.[51][52]
In July 2017 Jarrett signed a deal withViking Press for her book titledFinding My Voice: My Journey to the West Wing and the Path Forward.[53] It was published in 2019.[54]
In December 2020, following the announcement that Obama Foundation PresidentWally Adeyemo would be nominated to becomeDeputy Secretary of the Treasury, the Foundation announced that Jarrett would take over his duties on an interim basis until a successor can be found.[55] Jarrett has served aschief executive officer of the Foundation since 2021 and is a member of the board of directors.[56][57]
In 1983 she married William Robert Jarrett, son ofChicago Sun-Times reporterVernon Jarrett. She attributes her switch from a private to a public career to the birth of their daughter, and her own desire to do something that would make their daughter proud.[59] Her daughter,Laura Jarrett, would go on to become an attorney and reporter forCNN, and is now a senior legal correspondent forNBC News and co-anchor of theSaturday edition ofToday,[60][61][62] and daughter-in-law of the Canadian politicianBas Balkissoon.[63] She separated from her husband in 1987 and they were divorced in 1988.[59]
^Evans, Chyla Dibble (2003). "Robert Rochon Taylor". In Wilson, Dreck Spurlock (ed.).African American Architects: A Biographical Dictionary, 1865-1945. pp. 554–557.
^ab"Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett".The Administration: White House Staff.White House. Archived fromthe original on January 22, 2009. RetrievedJanuary 29, 2009.Valerie B. Jarrett is Senior Advisor and Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Liaison
