The deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency (DD/CIA) is a statutory office (50 U.S.C. ) and the second-highest official of the Central Intelligence Agency. The DD/CIA assists the director of the Central Intelligence Agency (D/CIA) and is authorized to exercise the powers of the D/CIA when the director's position is vacant or in the director's absence or disability.

Under current law, the deputy director is appointed by the president of the United States and is not required to be confirmed by the United States Senate.

History

The functions of this position were served by the deputy director of central intelligence (DDCI) until that position was abolished under the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004. The position of DD/CIA was created administratively by then-D/CIA Porter Goss and received statutory approval from the U.S. Congress in 2010.

The first DDCI was Kingman Douglass, appointed by the director of central intelligence in 1946, managing the Central Intelligence Group (CIG). With the passage of the National Security Act of 1947, the CIG was merged into the CIA. Thus, the position of DDCI predates the creation of the CIA.

In April 1953, Congress amended the National Security Act of 1947 to allow the president of the United States to appoint the DDCI (with U.S. Senate confirmation). The amendment stipulated that the director and deputy director positions could not be simultaneously filled by military officers.

List of deputy directors of central intelligence (1946–2004)

No.PortraitDeputy Director of Central IntelligenceTook officeLeft officeTime in officePresident serving under
1Kingman Douglass (1896–1971)March 2, 1946July 11, 1946131 daysHarry S. Truman
VacantJuly 11, 1946January 20, 1947193 daysHarry S. Truman
2Brigadier General Edwin Kennedy Wright (United States Army) (1898–1983)January 20, 1947March 9, 19492 years, 48 daysHarry S. Truman
VacantMarch 10, 1949October 7, 19501 year, 211 daysHarry S. Truman
3William Harding Jackson (1901–1971)October 7, 1950August 3, 1951300 daysHarry S. Truman
4Allen Dulles (1893–1969)August 23, 1951February 26, 19531 year, 187 daysHarry S. Truman Dwight D. Eisenhower
5General Charles P. Cabell (United States Air Force) (1903–1971)April 23, 1953January 31, 19628 years, 283 daysDwight D. Eisenhower John F. Kennedy
6Lieutenant General Marshall Carter (United States Army) (1909–1993)April 3, 1962April 28, 19653 years, 25 daysJohn F. Kennedy Lyndon B. Johnson
7Richard Helms (1913–2002)April 28, 1965June 30, 19661 year, 63 daysLyndon B. Johnson
8Vice Admiral Rufus Lackland Taylor (United States Navy) (1910–1978)October 13, 1966February 1, 19692 years, 111 daysLyndon B. Johnson Richard M. Nixon
9General Robert E. Cushman Jr. (United States Marine Corps) (1914–1985)May 7, 1969December 31, 19712 years, 238 daysRichard M. Nixon
10General Vernon A. Walters (United States Army) (1917–2002)May 2, 1972July 2, 19764 years, 61 daysRichard M. Nixon Gerald R. Ford
11E. Henry Knoche (1925–2010)July 7, 1976August 1, 19771 year, 25 daysGerald R. Ford Jimmy Carter
John F. Blake (1922–1995)August 1, 1977February 10, 1978193 daysJimmy Carter
12Frank Carlucci (1930–2018)February 10, 1978February 5, 19812 years, 361 daysJimmy Carter Ronald Reagan
13Admiral Bobby Ray Inman (United States Navy) (born 1931)February 12, 1981June 10, 19821 year, 118 daysRonald Reagan
14John N. McMahon (born 1929)June 10, 1982March 29, 19863 years, 292 daysRonald Reagan
15Robert Gates (born 1943)April 18, 1986March 20, 19892 years, 336 daysRonald Reagan George H. W. Bush
16Richard James Kerr (born 1935)March 20, 1989March 2, 19922 years, 348 daysGeorge H.W. Bush
17Admiral Bill Studeman (United States Navy) (born 1940)April 9, 1992July 3, 19953 years, 85 daysGeorge H.W. Bush Bill Clinton
18George Tenet (born 1953)July 3, 1995July 11, 19972 years, 8 daysBill Clinton
19General John A. Gordon (United States Air Force) (1946–2020)October 31, 1997June 29, 20002 years, 242 daysBill Clinton
20John E. McLaughlin (born 1942)October 19, 2000December 3, 20044 years, 45 daysBill Clinton George W. Bush

Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (2004–present)

Hereafter the deputy director of central intelligence position was replaced by the deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency and the principal deputy director of national intelligence.

No.Deputy Director of the CIATenurePresident(s) served under
Position succeeded the deputy director of central intelligence
VacantDecember 3, 2004 – July 15, 2005George W. Bush
1VADM Albert Calland, USNJuly 15, 2005 – July 23, 2006
2Stephen KappesJuly 24, 2006 – May 5, 2010George W. Bush Barack Obama
3Michael MorellMay 7, 2010 – August 9, 2013Barack Obama
4Avril HainesAugust 9, 2013 – January 10, 2015
5David S. CohenFebruary 9, 2015 – January 20, 2017
6Gina HaspelFebruary 2, 2017 – May 21, 2018Donald Trump
VacantMay 21, 2018 – August 1, 2018
7Vaughn BishopAugust 1, 2018 – January 20, 2021
8David S. CohenJanuary 20, 2021 – January 20, 2025Joe Biden
VacantJanuary 20, 2025 – February 10, 2025Donald Trump
9Michael EllisFebruary 10, 2025 – present

In popular culture

In the novel The Hunt for Red October, the character Vice Admiral James Greer is the fictional deputy director of the CIA; former U.S. marine Jack Ryan takes over this role after Admiral Greer's death in Clear and Present Danger. He subsequently retires from the position following a highly publicized media scandal and the detonation of a nuclear weapon at the Super Bowl in The Sum of All Fears.

In the animated sitcom American Dad!, the character Avery Bullock is the fictional deputy director of the CIA.

In the video game Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, the character Daniel Livingstone is the fictional deputy director of the CIA.

In the TV series The Boys, the character Susan L. Raynor is the fictional deputy director of the CIA.