From 1966 to 1982, Sununu taught at
Tufts University, where he was an associate professor of mechanical engineering. He was the associate dean of the university's College of Engineering from 1968 to 1973. He was on the advisory board of the Technology and Policy Program at MIT from 1984 until 1989. Sununu ran for the
New Hampshire Senate in 1974 and 1976, but lost the general election both times to Delbert F. Downing. He ran for the
United States Senate in
1980, but lost the Republican primary to
Warren Rudman.
Governor of New Hampshire Sununu became
New Hampshire's 75th governor on January 6, 1983, and was re-elected twice to hold the position for three consecutive terms. He was the first Arab-American governor of New Hampshire. Sununu was chairman of the Coalition of Northeastern Governors, the
Republican Governors Association and, in 1987, the
National Governors Association. Sununu angered some when he was the only governor of a U.S. state not to call for repeal of the
UN General Assembly Resolution 3379 ("Zionism is racism"). He later reversed his position on this issue and supported the Republicans' pro-
Israel 1988 platform.
White House chief of staff on the telephone during the
United States invasion of Panama with Sununu and
Brent Scowcroft on December 20, 1989 Sununu was the first
White House chief of staff for
George H. W. Bush, holding the position from 1989 to 1991.
Time magazine dubbed him "Bush's Bad Cop" on the front cover on May 21, 1990. Sununu is considered to have engineered Bush's mid-term abandonment of his
1988 campaign promise of
"no new taxes". In his report
Losing Earth: The Decade We Almost Stopped Climate Change,
Nathaniel Rich wrote that in November 1989 Sununu prevented the signing of a 67-nation commitment at the
Noordwijk Climate Conference to freeze
carbon dioxide emissions, with a reduction of 20 percent by 2005, and singled him out as a force starting coordinated efforts to bewilder the public on the topic of
global warming and changing it from an urgent, nonpartisan and unimpeachable issue to a political one. Interviewed as to his involvement in preventing an agreement, he stated: "It couldn't have happened, because, frankly, the leaders in the world at that time were at a stage where they were all looking how to seem like they were supporting the policy without having to make hard commitments that would cost their nations serious resources. Frankly, that's about where we are today." Sununu recommended
David Souter of New Hampshire to
President George H. W. Bush for appointment to the
Supreme Court of the United States, at the behest of his close friend, then-
U.S. senator and fellow New Hampshirite
Warren Rudman.
The Wall Street Journal described the events leading up to the appointment of the "liberal jurist" in a 2000 editorial, saying Rudman in his "Yankee Republican liberalism" took "pride in recounting how he sold Mr. Souter to gullible White House chief of staff John Sununu as a confirmable conservative. Then they both sold the judge to President Bush, who wanted above all else to avoid a confirmation battle [after
Robert Bork]." Rudman wrote in his memoir that he had "suspected all along" that Souter would not "overturn activist liberal precedents." Sununu later said that he had "a lot of disappointment" about Souter's positions on the Court and would have preferred him to be more similar to Justice
Antonin Scalia. Sununu resigned his White House post on December 4, 1991. He remained at the White House as
Counselor to the President until March 1, 1992.
USS Liberty veterans reunion On the 24th anniversary of the
USS Liberty incident (in 1991), approximately 50
Liberty survivors, including Captain
William McGonagle, were invited to the
White House to meet with President
George H. W. Bush in a meeting set up by former Congressmen
Paul Findley and
Pete McCloskey. After waiting for over 2 hours, President Bush waved at them as he passed by in his limousine, but did not meet with them in person. Instead, Sununu and National Security Adviser
Brent Scowcroft greeted them. Rear Admiral
Thomas A. Brooks, who had spoken out in favor of
Liberty survivors previously, presented them with a
Presidential Unit Citation that had been signed by President
Lyndon B. Johnson but never awarded. This meeting was objected to by the
Anti-Defamation League.
Conflict-zone mining Sununu is a major shareholder of the Anglo-Asian mining company (holding 9.38%) which stands to profit after Azerbaijan military victories over Nagorno-Karabakh.
Expenses controversy As White House chief of staff, Sununu reportedly took personal trips, for skiing and other purposes, and classified them as official, for purposes such as conservation or promoting the
Thousand Points of Light.
The Washington Post wrote that Sununu's jets "took him to fat-cat Republican fund-raisers, ski lodges, golf resorts and even his dentist in Boston." Sununu said that his use of the jets was necessary because he had to be near a telephone at all times for reasons of national security. Sununu became the subject of much late-night television humor over the incident. Sununu then sent the car and driver back to Washington unoccupied while he returned on a corporate jet. Sununu resigned his White House post on December 4, 1991. Sununu repaid over $47,000 to the government for the flights on the orders of White House counsel
C. Boyden Gray, with the help of the
Republican Party. However, the reimbursements were at commercial rates, which are about one-tenth the cost of the actual flights; one ski trip to
Vail, Colorado alone had cost taxpayers $86,330. ==Other activities==