After completing his undergraduate degree at the University of the Pacific and his law degree from the University of California, Berkeley, he served as an Assistant Attorney General under the Reagan administration and then entered private practice.
Olson represented George W. Bush in the case Bush v. Gore, which ended the contested the 2000 Presidential election.
He was nominated to the Office of Solicitor General by President Bush on February 14, 2001, and confirmed by the United States Senate on May 24, 2001.
Theodore Olson was married to conservative commentator and author Barbara K. Olson, who was killed aboard one of the hijacked aircraft during the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks on the United States.