Deputy Director of CIA for Operations

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[5] 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
Acting 		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[2] June 2021 – present Joe Biden
  1. ^ "Frank Gardiner Wisner, Lieutenant, United States Navy". April 9, 2023.
  2. ^ a b Strobel, Warren (June 16, 2021). "CIA Names David Marlowe to Run Espionage Operations". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
  3. ^ Schnell, Mychael (June 17, 2021). "30-year CIA veteran to run espionage operations". The Hill. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
  4. ^ Hoffman, Daniel (July 1, 2021). "At the CIA, Dave Marlowe is an inspired choice for a critical job". Washington Times. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
  5. ^ a b Jeff Stein (August 7, 2014). "CIA Vaults a Woman into Top Spy Ranks". Newsweek. Retrieved October 9, 2015.
  6. ^ Mazzetti, Mark; Apuzzo, Matt (April 25, 2015). "Deep Support in Washington for C.I.A.'s Drone Missions". The New York Times (New York ed.). p. A1. Archived from the original on April 26, 2015. Retrieved October 9, 2015. Mr. Brennan recently named Greg Vogel ... to take over the C.I.A.'s vaunted Directorate of Operations
  7. ^ Shapira, Ian (September 18, 2017). "The CIA acknowledges the legendary spy who saved Hamid Karzai's life — and honors him by name". Washington Post.
  8. ^ "McChrystal Group - Greg Vogle". McChrystal Group.
  9. ^ Volz, Warren P. Strobel and Dustin. "CIA Names First Woman to Lead Clandestine Operations". WSJ. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
  10. ^ "No, Elizabeth Kimber is not the first woman picked to head the CIA's clandestine operations". American Enterprise Institute - AEI. December 10, 2018. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
  11. ^ "Beth Kimber becomes first woman to run CIA's spy network". NBC News. December 7, 2018. Retrieved January 17, 2020.