Allen Dulles
Allen Dulles | |
|---|---|
| 5th Director of Central Intelligence | |
| In office February 26, 1953 – November 29, 1961 | |
| President | Dwight D. Eisenhower John F. Kennedy |
| Deputy | Charles P. Cabell |
| Preceded by | Walter Bedell Smith |
| Succeeded by | John A. McCone |
| 4th Deputy Director of Central Intelligence | |
| In office August 23, 1951 – February 26, 1953 | |
| President | Harry S. Truman Dwight D. Eisenhower |
| Preceded by | William H. Jackson |
| Deputy Director of Central Intelligence for Plans | |
| In office January 4, 1951 – August 23, 1951 | |
| President | Harry S. Truman |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Director of Office of Strategic Services | |
| In office June 13, 1942 – September 20, 1945 | |
| President | Franklin D. Roosevelt Harry S. Truman |
| Preceded by | William J. Donovan |
| Succeeded by | John A. McCone |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Allen Welsh Dulles April 7, 1893 Watertown, New York, U.S. |
| Died | January 29, 1969 (aged 75) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Resting place | Green Mount Cemetery |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse |
Martha "Clover" Todd
(m. 1920) |
| Children | 3 |
| Relatives | John Foster Dulles (brother) John Watson Foster (uncle) John Welsh Dulles (grandfather) Miron Winslow (great-grandfather) Harriet Winslow (great-grandmother) Avery Cardinal Dulles (nephew) Dulles family |
| Education | Princeton University (BA) George Washington University (LLB) |
Allen Welsh Dulles (/ˈdʌlɪs/ DUL-iss; April 7, 1893 – January 29, 1969) was an American lawyer who was the first civilian director of central intelligence (DCI), and its longest serving director. As head of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) during the early Cold War, he oversaw numerous activities, such as the 1953 Iranian coup d'état, the 1954 Guatemalan coup d'état, the Project MKUltra mind control program, and the Bay of Pigs Invasion in 1961. As a result of the failed invasion of Cuba, Dulles was forced to resign by President John F. Kennedy and was replaced with John McCone for the remainder of the Kennedy administration.
Following his resignation, Dulles was appointed to the Warren Commission tasked with investigating President Kennedy's assassination. His inclusion on the panel, despite having been dismissed by Kennedy and formerly serving as head of the CIA, has prompted sustained discussion among historians and commentators regarding potential conflicts of interest. While the 1979 House Select Committee on Assassinations concluded that the CIA as an institution was not involved in the assassination, debate persists over the extent of internal agency knowledge, as well as Dulles’s influence on the commission’s scope and findings.
Between his stints of government service, Dulles was a corporate lawyer and partner at Sullivan & Cromwell. His older brother, John Foster Dulles, was the Secretary of State during the Eisenhower administration and is the namesake of Dulles International Airport.