The Director of the National Clandestine Service (D/NCS) (formerly the Deputy Director for Operations, DDO) is a senior United States government official in the U.S.

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 Central Intelligence Agency

Central Intelligence Agency

The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...

 who serves as head of the National Clandestine Service

National Clandestine Service

The National Clandestine Service is one of the four main components of the Central Intelligence Agency...

 (formerly the Directorate of Operations).

The position was established December 1, 1950 and from January 4, 1951 until March 1, 1973 it was known as Deputy Director for Plans. Under the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act

Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act

The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 , , is a 236-page Act of Congress, signed by President George W. Bush, that broadly affects US federal terrorism laws. In juxtaposition with the single-subject rule, the act is composed of several separate titles with varying subject...

 of 2004, the position was upgraded to D/NCS.

Director	Tenure
Allen W. Dulles	January 4, 1951 – August 23, 1951
Frank G. Wisner Frank Wisner Frank Gardiner Wisner was head of Office of Strategic Services operations in southeastern Europe at the end of World War II, and the head of the Directorate of Plans of the Central Intelligence Agency during the 1950s....	August 23, 1951 – January 1, 1959
Richard M. Bissell, Jr. Richard M. Bissell, Jr. Richard Mervin Bissell, Jr. was an American Central Intelligence Agency officer responsible for major projects such as the U-2 spy plane and the Bay of Pigs Invasion.-Early years:...	January 1, 1959 – February 17, 1962
Richard M. Helms Richard Helms Richard McGarrah Helms was the Director of Central Intelligence from 1966 to 1973. He was the only director to have been convicted of lying to the United States Congress over Central Intelligence Agency undercover activities. In 1977, he was sentenced to the maximum fine and received a suspended...	February 17, 1962 – April 28, 1965
Desmond Fitzgerald	June 28, 1965 – July 23, 1967
Thomas H. Karamessines Thomas Karamessines Thomas H. Karamessines was the Deputy Director for Plans of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency from July 31, 1967 until February 27, 1973. Karamessines was actively involved in the Agency's Project FUBELT to undermine the government of Chilean president Salvador Allende....	July 31, 1967 – February 27, 1973
William E. Colby	March 2, 1973 – August 24, 1973
William E. Nelson	August 24, 1973 – May 14, 1976
William W. Wells	May 15, 1976 – December 31, 1977
John N. McMahon John N. McMahon John N. McMahon is a former senior U.S. official of the Central Intelligence Agency. He joined the CIA in 1951, and served as Deputy Director for Operations from 1978-81 and later as Deputy Director of Central Intelligence from 1982 to 1986....	January 11, 1978 – April 12, 1981
Max Hugel	May 11, 1981 – July 14, 1981
John H. Stein	July 14, 1981 – July 1, 1984
Clair E. George Clair George Clair Elroy George was a widely respected veteran of the Central Intelligence Agency's clandestine service who oversaw all global espionage activities for the agency in the mid-1980s...	July 1, 1984 – December 1, 1987
Richard F. Stolz	January 4, 1988 – December 31, 1990
Thomas A. Twetten	January 1, 1991 – December 1993
Hugh E. Price Hugh Price (intelligence) Hugh E. "Ted" Price is a former Deputy Director for Operations of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency and is currently chairman of Lehman Brothers India....	January 1994–1995
David Cohen David Cohen (intelligence) David Cohen is the Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence for the New York City Police Department. He was the first to be appointed to this position, created by the city government in response to the September 11 attacks. He previously was Deputy Director for Operations in the U.S. Central...	1995–1997
Jack G. Downing	1997 – July 1999
James Pavitt James Pavitt James L. Pavitt was Deputy Director for Operations for the CIA from 1999 until June 4, 2004. His sudden resignation – as well as that of his chief, DCI George Tenet the previous day – led to speculation that it was over the controversy surrounding Iraq weapons of mass destruction or 9-11...	August 1999 – June 4, 2004
Stephen Kappes Stephen Kappes Stephen R. Kappes was the Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency , until his resignation on April 14, 2010. He had served in the CIA since 1981, with a two-year hiatus. A career clandestine operations professional, Mr...	August 2004 – November 2004
Jose A. Rodriguez, Jr. Jose Rodriguez (intelligence) Jose A. Rodriguez, Jr. was the Director of the National Clandestine Service of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. He was the last CIA Deputy Director for Operations before that position was expanded to D/NCS in December 2004...	November 16, 2004 – September 30, 2007
Michael Sulick Michael Sulick Michael J. Sulick is an American intelligence officer and served as Director of the U.S. National Clandestine Service from 2007-2010....	September 30, 2007 – July 2010
John D. Bennett	July 2010–present

Sources

• CIA's senior management structure, letter dated July 2, 1991 from William H. Webster, Director of Central Intelligence
  Director of Central Intelligence
  The Office of United States Director of Central Intelligence was the head of the United States Central Intelligence Agency, the principal intelligence advisor to the President and the National Security Council, and the coordinator of intelligence activities among and between the various United...
  
   to U.S. Senator John Glenn
  John Glenn
  John Herschel Glenn, Jr. is a former United States Marine Corps pilot, astronaut, and United States senator who was the first American to orbit the Earth and the third American in space. Glenn was a Marine Corps fighter pilot before joining NASA's Mercury program as a member of NASA's original...
  
  , Select Senate Committee on Intelligence.
• "CIA plans riskier, more aggressive espionage," USA Today, 17 November 2004.
• Director Leon E. Panetta Announces New National Clandestine Service Chief, press release dated July 21, 2010.