The director of the Central Intelligence Agency (D/CIA) is a statutory office () that functions as the head of the

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

, which in turn is a part of the United States Intelligence Community. Beginning February 2017, the D/CIA was elevated to

Cabinet of the United States The Cabinet of the United States is a body consisting of the vice president of the United States and the heads of the executive branch's departments in the federal government of the United States. It is the principal official advisory body to ...

level status, as designated by the president of the United States. This ended with the beginning of the Biden administration. The director reports to the director of national intelligence (DNI) and is assisted by the deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency (DD/CIA). The director is a civilian or a

general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...

or flag officer of the

United States Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is ...

nominated by the

president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal gove ...

, with the recommendation from the DNI, and must be confirmed by a majority vote of the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...

History

Before April 21, 2005, the

director of Central Intelligence The director of central intelligence (DCI) was the head of the American Central Intelligence Agency from 1946 to 2005, acting as the principal intelligence advisor to the president of the United States and the United States National Security C ...

(DCI) headed both the Intelligence Community and the Central Intelligence Agency. In addition, DCI served as an advisor to the

on intelligence matters and was the statutory intelligence advisor to the National Security Council (NSC). On April 21, 2005, the director of national intelligence (DNI) took on the roles as head of the Intelligence Community and principal intelligence advisor to the president and the NSC. The post of DCI was established in 1946 by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Harry S. Truman; it thus predates the establishment of the Central Intelligence Agency (created by the

National Security Act of 1947 The National Security Act of 1947 ( Pub.L.br>80-253 61 Stat.br>495 enacted July 26, 1947) was a law enacting major restructuring of the United States government's military and intelligence agencies following World War II. The majority of the pro ...

). After the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, the Office of Strategic Services was dismantled and its functions were split between the departments of state and war (now defense). President Truman soon recognized the inefficiency of this arrangement and created the

Central Intelligence Group The National Intelligence Authority (NIA) was the United States Government authority responsible for monitoring the Central Intelligence Group (CIG), the successor intelligence agency of the Office of Strategic Services established by President ...

, which could be considered a smaller precursor to the National Security Council. The following year the

created the Central Intelligence Agency and National Security Council, while formally defining the duties of the director of Central Intelligence. The duties of the DCI had been further defined over the years by tradition, congressional acts, and Executive Orders.

Order of succession

The order of succession determines which official shall act and perform the functions and duties of the director in the event he or she dies, resigns, or otherwise becomes unable to perform their duties. The official will serve as Acting Director. If the official is already serving in an acting capacity, or he or she is otherwise not eligible under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998, the order skips to the next person in line. However, the

retains discretion to depart from the list in designating an acting director.

List of directors

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Director Of The Central Intelligence Agency * 2005 establishments in the United States

History

Order of succession

List of directors

See also

References