Director, Central Intelligence Agency

Michael V. Hayden became the 18th Director of the Central Intelligence Agency on 30 May 2006. As DCIA, he leads the Agency and manages the Intelligence Community’s HUMINT and open source collection programs on behalf of the DNI.

After 39 years in the U.S. Air Force, Director Hayden retired from active duty on 1 July 2008 with the rank of General. He was until then the highest-ranking intelligence officer in the Armed Forces.

Director Hayden has wide experience in leadership positions throughout the Intelligence Community. From April 2005 to May 2006, he was the first Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence.  Prior to that, he served for six years as Director, National Security Agency/Chief, Central Security Service (NSA/CSS), Fort George G. Meade, Maryland. Director Hayden was Commander of the Air Intelligence Agency and Director of the Joint Command and Control Warfare Center, both headquartered at Kelly Air Force Base, Texas, from January 1996 to September 1997. From May 1993 to October 1995, he served as Director, Intelligence Directorate, U.S. European Command, Stuttgart, Germany.

Director Hayden also has held senior staff positions at the Pentagon, the National Security Council, and the U.S. Embassy in Sofia, Bulgaria, as well as serving as Deputy Chief of Staff for United Nations Command and U.S. Forces Korea. He entered active duty in 1969 as a distinguished graduate of the Reserve Officer Training Corps program.

Director Hayden holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and a Master’s degree in modern American history from Duquesne University. He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on 17 March 1945. He and his wife, Jeanine, have a daughter and two sons.