Mira Ricardel

Mira Radielovic Ricardel (formerly Baratta; born July 5, 1960), is an American businesswoman and former government official.

She is a board member of Titomic, an Australian manufacturing additive company listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.

She served as Deputy National Security Advisor from May 2018 to November 2018. Her controversial departure from the White House was largely billed as being "fired at the request of First Lady Melania Trump."

Earlier in the first Trump administration, Ricardel served as a Special Assistant to the President and Associate Director in the Office of Presidential Personnel, and Under Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration. In years prior to that, she served as a foreign policy advisor to U.S. Senator Bob Dole and held positions in the U.S. Department of Defense during the presidency of George W. Bush.

Early life and education Born Mira P. Radielovic in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Her father, Peter Radielovic, came from Breza, Bosnia and Herzegovina. He was 16 years old when he survived the Bleiburg repatriations. After briefly attending Zagreb University, he left Yugoslavia in 1954. After two years in Heidelberg, where he met and married his wife, he arrived in the United States in 1956. Her family belonged to the St Anthony's Croatian Catholic Church and attended Mass in Los Angeles.

She then did doctoral coursework at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, but did not complete her degree.

Aide to Dole From 1989 to 1996, Ricardel worked as a legislative assistant to Senate Republican leader Bob Dole, drafting legislation and specializing in foreign affairs and defense policy. and her work with Dole earned her a portrayal in the nationally circulated Weekly Standard in 1995.

Ricardel's Croatian heritage brought forth accusations that she was influencing Dole to take an anti-Serbian policy stance.

Ricardel served as an advisor on defense and foreign policy on Dole's 1996 presidential campaign, when he won the Republican nomination but lost the general election to Bill Clinton.

Freedom House Ricardel served as a vice president for programming with the nonprofit organization Freedom House from 1997 to 1998 and as an independent consultant from 1998 to 2000.

From 2006 to 2015, Ricardel was employed by the Boeing Company as Vice President, Strategic Missile & Defense Systems, as well as Vice President of International Business Development, Network and Space Systems.

In 2015, Ricardel joined Federal Budget IQ as a consultant. Despite the orientation of its work, that of an involved governmental research firm, she was not considered a registered lobbyist.

Donald Trump administration Transition Ricardel was part of Donald Trump's 2016 presidential transition team as a Department of Defense advisor leading the DOD Transition Team.

Ricardel was looked at for positions in the new administration in the Defense and State Departments, but was twice blocked based upon past bureaucratic run-ins, in the first instance by Secretary of Defense James Mattis and in the second by Department of State Chief of Staff Margaret Peterlin.

Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security

On March 30, 2017, President Trump announced his intent to nominate Ricardel for Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security in the U.S. Department of Commerce. The committee approved her nomination and she was confirmed by the entire U.S. Senate on August 3, 2017, by voice vote.

Deputy National Security Advisor On April 23, 2018, Ricardel was named as the next Deputy National Security Advisor by the new National Security Advisor, John R. Bolton. She replaced Major General Rick Waddell and took office in May without requiring Senate confirmation. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross also congratulated Mira Ricardel on her new position. This move was defended by White House officials referring to Alexander Hamilton in Federalist No. 70 but criticized by many in the cybersecurity community.

In July 2018, reported difficulties between Ricardel and NSC staffer Jennifer Arangio led to Arangio's dismissal. Despite past conflicts, the White House said Ricardel was working effectively with the Defense Department. However, subsequent reports in September 2018 indicated that conflicts between Ricardel and Defense Secretary Mattis were still present, while other reports said that the conflict between the two had been overblown. Ricardel continued to be portrayed in the media as a tough bureaucratic opponent. following a dispute over personnel presence on the plane for the First Lady's visit to Africa. Bloomberg News reported that Ricardel "had caused friction" and was "widely disliked among other White House staff."

Subsequent developments By mid-November, Ricardel had reportedly been offered nearly a dozen other positions within the Trump administration, including the post of United States Ambassador to Estonia, which she refused. that did not happen. Since November 2019, Ricardel has served as Principal of The Chertoff Group, a security consulting firm founded by former Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff and Chad Sweet.

Memberships, awards, and honors In July 2005, Ricardel was awarded the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service.

Personal life While at the Fletcher School, she met Robert Baratta, who has been involved in aspects of Virginia politics and the federal government. They married and she became known as Mira Baratta.

Publications