Allen Dulles
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 to date. As head of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) during the early Cold War, he oversaw the 1953 Iranian coup d'état, the 1954 Guatemalan coup d'état, the Lockheed U-2 aircraft program, 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 fired by President John F. Kennedy.
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 |
| Succeeded by | Charles P. Cabell |
| Deputy Director of Central Intelligence for Plans | |
| In office January 4, 1951 – August 23, 1951 | |
| President | Harry S. Truman |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Frank Wisner |
| 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 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) |
Dulles was a member of the Warren Commission that investigated the Kennedy's assassination. A conspiracy theory suggesting that Dulles and the CIA were somehow involved in Kennedy's assassination and its potential cover up in the Warren Commission have been subject to popular debate among historians, political commentators and conspiracy theorists. In 1979, the House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) concluded that the CIA was not involved in the assassination of Kennedy.
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.