Director of the Central Intelligence Agency D/CIA

The National Security Act of 1947 created the Central Intelligence Agency and a Director of Central Intelligence who led both the agency and the broader intelligence community. After the September 11 attacks, the 9/11 Commission concluded that no one could manage the community as a whole while also running the CIA, and the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of December 17, 2004, moved the community-wide role to a new Director of National Intelligence. Since 2005 the agency's head has been the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

The Director is nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate, serves without a fixed term, and reports to the Director of National Intelligence while often briefing the President directly. The Director manages the agency's analysts, case officers, scientists, and support staff, oversees the collection of intelligence from human sources abroad, coordinates human intelligence across the government, and carries out covert action when the President authorizes it in a written finding that must be reported to the congressional intelligence committees. Some presidents have given the Director cabinet rank.

The office has been at the center of debates over secrecy and accountability since the 1975 Church Committee exposed assassination plots, domestic spying, and other abuses, which led to the creation of permanent intelligence committees in Congress. Later controversies included the Iran-Contra affair, the flawed estimates on Iraqi weapons before the 2003 war, and the detention and interrogation program after 2001. In 2025 the agency offered buyouts and planned workforce reductions as part of a broader restructuring. Supporters said the cuts made the agency leaner and refocused it on core missions, while critics said they risked losing experienced officers and analysts.