Matthew G. Olsen

From 2021 to 2025, Mr. Olsen served as Assistant Attorney General for National Security, leading DOJ’s mission to defend the United States against nation-state adversaries, espionage, cyber attacks, terrorism, and other national security threats.

From 2011 to 2014, Mr. Olsen was the Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, where he led the government’s efforts to combat terrorism through the integration and analysis of intelligence and strategic planning. He also served as General Counsel of the National Security Agency.

Mr. Olsen has worked at the Department of Justice as a career attorney and in a number of leadership positions, including as Special Counselor to the Attorney General and Special Counsel to the FBI Director. He served for over a decade as a federal prosecutor in the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. Mr. Olsen began his public service career at as a trial attorney in the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

In the private sector, Mr. Olsen is currently with the law firm WilmerHale. He previously served as the Chief Trust and Security Officer for Uber Technologies and co-founded and operated a cyber security consulting and software company.

Mr. Olsen has taught at Harvard Law School, the University of Virginia School of Law, and the Georgetown University Law Center. He was a law clerk to the Honorable Norma Holloway Johnson in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. He graduated from Harvard Law School and the University of Virginia.