President-elect Joe Biden announced on Monday that he had chosen former career diplomat William Burns to head the Central Intelligence Agency.
“The American people will sleep soundly with him as our next CIA director,” said Biden in a statement.
A former ambassador to Russia and Jordan, Burns is the last major nomination for Biden, who takes office in nine days. Most recently, he served as deputy secretary of state in President Barack Obama’s administration and held other diplomatic positions over a three-decade career in Republican and Democratic governments.
“Bill Burns is an exemplary diplomat with decades of experience on the world stage, keeping our people and our country safe and protected,” said Biden. “He shares my deep conviction that intelligence must be non-political and that the dedicated intelligence professionals who serve our nation deserve our gratitude and respect.”
If confirmed in office, he would be the first career diplomat to serve as director of the CIA, according to Biden’s team.
Burns, who speaks Russian, Arabic and French, retired from foreign service in 2014 after 33 years and was only the second career diplomat in history to become assistant secretary of state. He has also held several national security positions in five presidential administrations, according to Biden’s team.
After retiring from foreign service, Burns became president of Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a Washington-based international affairs think tank.
He was educated at LaSalle University in Philadelphia and at Oxford University in Great Britain.
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