John E.
Collingwood, the longtime head of congressional and public
affairs for the FBI, will retire after nearly 27 years
as Special Agent to take a position in the private sector.
FBI Director Robert S. Mueller said: "I will miss
John greatly. He has played a critical role in every major
issue that the FBI has faced over the past decade and
longer. His efforts and dedication, driven by the highest
professional and personal standards -- and a work ethic
second to none -- have made the FBI a better organization
during the time he has been here, and helped position
us well for the future. Every FBI employee should be grateful
for John and what he has contributed to this organization."
Mr. Collingwood,
54, worked under four directors during 22 years at FBI
Headquarters. Beginning in the then-Legal Counsel Division
in legal research, he later headed the civil litigation
program. In 1987, he became a special assistant to the
Director where he worked on a wide variety of issues,
including the class action litigation involving FBI hiring
and promotion policies. He was appointed Inspector in
Charge of the Congressional Affairs Office and later assumed
responsibility for the combined Office of Public and Congressional
Affairs. In 1997, he was designated Assistant Director
in charge of the new public and congressional division,
which now included the Freedom of Information and Privacy
Acts program.
Prior
to coming to FBI Headquarters, Mr. Collingwood was assigned
to the Detroit and Portland, Ore., field offices as an
investigator.
As chief
spokesman and head of the congressional liaison program,
Mr. Collingwood led the effort to keep Congress informed
on the full range of FBI issues and initiatives, including,
over the years: expansion of the FBI overseas; class action
personnel lawsuits that changed the face of the FBI; rebuilding
the FBI's information infrastructure; the need to ensure
continued, lawful access to criminal and terrorism communications
in major cases; and, most recently, the reorganization
and re-engineering of the FBI in the wake of the September
11 terrorist attacks. He also helped shape with Congressional
committees critical legislation for law enforcement in
the areas of terrorism, information technologies, intellectual
property, pay reform and health care enforcement.
"John
has been invaluable to me over the past year as we've
tackled a number of critically important initiatives,
most importantly reorganization and re-engineering. He
has given me wise counsel during one of the most important
periods in the FBI's history. He has been a valued friend.
It's a tremendous understatement to say that he will be
sorely missed," Mueller said.
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