The deputy director of the CIA for operations is a senior United States government official in the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency who serves as head of the Directorate of Operations. The position was established December 1, 1950 and from January 4, 1951, until March 1, 1973, it was known as Deputy Director of Plans (DDP). When this unit was known as the Directorate of Plans, it at first accounted for about 75% of the CIA budget and about 60% of the personnel within the CIA.[1]
After staying named the deputy director of plans until 1973, the position was then known as Deputy Director for Operations (DDO) until October 13, 2005, when, under the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, the position was renamed to Director of the National Clandestine Service (D/NCS). When David Marlowe was chosen to lead the Directorate of Operations by CIA Director William J. Burns in June 2021, media reported his position as being titled Deputy Director of Operations.[2] [3] [4]
| Director | Tenure | President(s) served under | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allen Dulles | January 4, 1951 – August 23, 1951 | Harry S. Truman | ||
| Frank Wisner | August 23, 1951 – January 1, 1959 | Harry S. Truman Dwight D. Eisenhower | ||
| Richard Bissell | January 1, 1959 – February 17, 1962 | Dwight D. Eisenhower John F. Kennedy | ||
| Richard Helms | February 17, 1962 – April 28, 1965 | John F. Kennedy Lyndon B. Johnson | ||
| Desmond Fitzgerald | June 28, 1965 – July 23, 1967 | Lyndon B. Johnson | ||
| Thomas Karamessines | July 31, 1967 – February 27, 1973 | Lyndon B. Johnson Richard Nixon | ||
| William Colby | March 2, 1973 – August 24, 1973 | Richard Nixon | ||
| William Nelson | August 24, 1973 – May 14, 1976 | Richard Nixon Gerald Ford | ||
| William Wells | May 15, 1976 – December 31, 1977 | Gerald Ford Jimmy Carter | ||
| John McMahon | January 11, 1978 – April 12, 1981 | Jimmy Carter Ronald Reagan | ||
| Max Hugel | May 11, 1981 – July 14, 1981 | Ronald Reagan | ||
| John Stein | July 14, 1981 – July 1, 1984 | |||
| Clair George | July 1, 1984 – December 1, 1987 | |||
| Richard Stolz | January 4, 1988 – December 31, 1990 | Ronald Reagan George H. W. Bush | ||
| Thomas Twetten | January 1, 1991 – December 1993 | George H. W. Bush Bill Clinton | ||
| Hugh Price | January 1994–1995 | Bill Clinton | ||
| David Cohen | 1995–1997 | |||
| Jack Downing | 1997 – July 1999 | |||
| James Pavitt | August 1999 – June 4, 2004 | Bill Clinton George W. Bush | ||
| Stephen Kappes | June 5, 2004 – November 15, 2004 | George W. Bush | ||
| Jose Rodriguez | November 16, 2004 – September 30, 2007 | |||
| Michael Sulick | September 30, 2007 – July 30, 2010 | George W. Bush Barack Obama | ||
| John Bennett | July 30, 2010 – February 28, 2013 | Barack Obama | ||
| Gina Haspel | February 28, 2013 – May 7, 2013 | |||
| Frank Archibald[5] | May 7, 2013 – January 29, 2015 | |||
| Greg Vogle[6] [7] [8] | January 29, 2015 – August 2017 | Barack Obama, Donald Trump | ||
| Elizabeth Kimber[9] [10] [11] | December 10, 2018 – June 2021 | Donald Trump, Joe Biden | ||
| David Marlowe | June 2021 – present | Joe Biden | ||