Richard Welch

Richard Skeffington Welch
Richard Welch
Born
Richard Skeffington Welch

December 14, 1929
DiedDecember 23, 1975(1975-12-23) (aged 46)
Athens, Greece
Resting placeArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia, US
Occupation(s)CIA official
(Chief of Station, Athens)
EmployerCentral Intelligence Agency

Richard Skeffington Welch (December 14, 1929 – December 23, 1975) was a career Central Intelligence Agency officer. He was the Chief of Station (COS) in Athens, Greece, when he was assassinated by the Revolutionary Organization 17 November (17N). His assassination led to the passage of the Intelligence Identities Protection Act, making it a crime to expose or identify officers working in covert roles who had not officially been acknowledged as such by the U.S. government.