Benjamin Fischer (historian)

This article is about the American historian. For other uses, see Benjamin Fischer (disambiguation).
Benjamin B. Fischer
BornSeptember 1946 (age 78)
Known forCIA chief historian
Academic background
Alma materColumbia University, Cornell University
Academic work
DisciplineHistory
Sub-disciplineEastern European and Soviet Union affairs; intelligence
InstitutionsCIA Center for the Study of Intelligence

Benjamin B. Fischer (born September 1946[1]) is an American historian specializing in eastern European and Soviet history. He was chief historian for the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), working as an officer at the agency for 34 years prior to his retirement.[2]

Fischer is a graduate of Cornell University and Columbia University. During his CIA career, he worked for nine years in the agency’s Directorate of Intelligence as an analyst of Soviet issues, for 15 years in the Directorate of Operations in the United States and abroad, and for 10 years on the history staff of the CIA’s Center for the Study of Intelligence, culminating as chief historian.[3]

The White House Millennium Council selected his monograph At Cold War's End: US Intelligence on the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, 1989–1991 (1999) for inclusion in a time capsule at the National Archives to be opened in 2100.[4] In 2002, Fischer was a visiting research fellow at the Norwegian Nobel Institute in Oslo.[5] He was interviewed in the 2021 Netflix series Spycraft.[6]

  1. ^ Weiner, Tim (September 1, 1996). "C.I.A. Officer's Suit Tells Tale of Betrayal and Disgrace". New York Times. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  2. ^ Petropoulos, Vasilis (July 14, 2023). "A Conversation with Former CIA Officer Benjamin Fischer". Fletcher Russia and Eurasia Program. Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  3. ^ Fischer, Benjamin (2022). "My Two Moles: A Memoir". International Journal of Intelligence and CounterIntelligence. 35 (1): 147–163. doi:10.1080/08850607.2021.1888041. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  4. ^ InfoTechWarPeace | Dis/Simulations of War and Peace Symposium Archived May 19, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ The Norwegian Nobel Institute Archived September 7, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ Burgess, Christopher (March 15, 2021). "Top 10 Takeaways from the Netflix Series Spycraft". Clearance Jobs. Retrieved 29 January 2024.