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1 of 13Steve Bannon in his Senior Year book, Benedictine High School, Richmond, Va., 1972.Seth Poppel/Yearbook Library -
2 of 13Military Court; Bannon (left), Senior Year 1972. Benedictine High School, Richmond, Va.Seth Poppel/Yearbook Library -
3 of 13Bannon won the Student Government Association presidency during his junior year at Virginia Tech, 1975.Courtesy of Virginia Tech -
4 of 13Documentary filmmaker Bannon in his office in Santa Monica, Calif., June 20, 2005.Marissa Roth—The New York Times/Redux -
5 of 13Award winning filmmaker Bannon introduces his Tea Party movie trilogy at the Virginia Tea Party Convention,Richmond, Va., Oct. 8, 2010.Tina Fultz—Zuma Press -
6 of 13Bannon in the Washington offices of Breitbart News, 2015.Jeremy Liebman -
7 of 13Breitbart News Daily's Steve Bannon interviews Donald Trump, Jr. for SiriusXM Broadcasts' New Hampshire Primary Coverage, live from the iconic Red Arrow Diner in Manchester, N.H., Feb. 8, 2016.Paul Marotta—SiriusXM/Getty Images -
8 of 13Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's campaign CEO Steve Bannon attends a campaign rally in Eau Claire, Wis., Nov. 1, 2016.Chip Somodevilla—Getty Images -
9 of 13Steve Bannon, appointed chief strategist and senior counselor to President-elect Donald Trump, arrives for the Presidential Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., Jan 20, 2017.Saul Loeb—AFP/Getty Images -
10 of 13National security advisor Michael Flynn and White House chief strategist Steve Bannon in the Oval Office with President Trump while he speaks on the phone with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Jan. 28, 2017.Drew Angerer—Getty Images -
11 of 13White House senior advisers Jared Kushner, Steve Bannon and national security adviser Michael Flynn in the Oval Office, during a meeting between President Trump and British Prime Minister Theresa May, Jan. 27, 2017.Pablo Martinez Monsivais—AP -
12 of 13President Trump congratulates Bannon during the swearing-in of senior staff in the East Room of the White House, Jan. 22, 2017.Mandel Ngan—AFP/Getty Images -
13 of 13Steve Bannon, chief strategist for U.S. President Donald Trump, walks towards Marine One after Trump, not pictured, boarded on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., Jan. 27, 2017.Andrew Harrer—Bloomberg/Getty Images
Steve Bannon has had an unusual path to working in the White House.
After growing up in a working-class Irish Catholic Democratic family in Virginia, Bannon served in the U.S. Navy, worked as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs, produced movies and ran the the conservative website Breitbart News before going to work for Trump’s campaign.
A recent TIME cover story asked if Bannon is “the second most powerful man in the world” for the role he has played since Trump moved into the Oval Office.
In his job as a strategist for President Trump, Bannon helped draft the uncharacteristically dark inaugural address, pushed the controversial travel ban, criticized the mainstream media and negotiated a standing invitation to the National Security Council.
He’s also faced criticism, both from grassroots liberals online as well as Democratic leaders.
See a gallery of rare photographs of Steve Bannon’s life.
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