Otto Otepka
Encyclopedia
Otto F. Otepka was a Deputy Director of the United States State Department's Office of Security in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
Born in Chicago
to of Czech-born immigrant parents, his father had been a blacksmith and worked in America at a forge. He could offer his brilliant son little in the way of material support. Otepka worked his way through college and law school. Following military service, he joined the Civil Service Commission as an investigator on the look-out for Nazis and crypto-fascists. In 1953, he arrived at the Office of Security with the authority to uncover both criminal acts and Communist sympathies in the history of people to be hired by the Department of State.
This was at the beginning of the Eisenhower Administration and Otepka's "Evaluations" section was faced with Senator Joseph McCarthy
who was at the height of his power and making accusations that Communists and Communist sympathizers had infiltrated the U.S. Army and U.S. Department of State. Otepka was assisted by another newcomer to the State Department, William Bud Uanna
, who would soon head up "Physical Security" at State. Otepka, Uanna and R. W. Scott McLeod
, another newcomer in Security at State, were mentioned in a 1954 article in The Reporter (magazine)
entitled "Big Brother at Foggy Bottom." The article describes how the State Department implemented Eisenhower's answer to McCarthy - Executive Order 10450
- and the reaction to it by State's employees.
The Office of Security was often simply known as "SY" and in the 1980s became the Diplomatic Security Service
. Otepka was in charge of vetting clearances for the State Department and he gained public attention when he was sidelined and then later fired by Secretary of State Dean Rusk
. Otepka claimed he was punished for not clearing names proposed by the Kennedy administration for employment in the State Department. Some of these names had previously been banned during the Eisenhower administration, according to at least one source. Details concerning Otepka are outlined in The Ordeal of Otto Otepka.
By the late 1960s there was a Congressional hearing into the dismissal of Otepka but in the end Otepka was never returned to his previous station. He died in Cape Coral, Florida in March 2010.
Born in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
to of Czech-born immigrant parents, his father had been a blacksmith and worked in America at a forge. He could offer his brilliant son little in the way of material support. Otepka worked his way through college and law school. Following military service, he joined the Civil Service Commission as an investigator on the look-out for Nazis and crypto-fascists. In 1953, he arrived at the Office of Security with the authority to uncover both criminal acts and Communist sympathies in the history of people to be hired by the Department of State.
This was at the beginning of the Eisenhower Administration and Otepka's "Evaluations" section was faced with Senator Joseph McCarthy
Joseph McCarthy
Joseph Raymond "Joe" McCarthy was an American politician who served as a Republican U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957...
who was at the height of his power and making accusations that Communists and Communist sympathizers had infiltrated the U.S. Army and U.S. Department of State. Otepka was assisted by another newcomer to the State Department, William Bud Uanna
Bud Uanna
William Lewis "Bud" Uanna was a United States security expert. Uanna held many top security positions, and was a security officer on the Manhattan Project and later Chief of the Division of Physical Security at the U.S...
, who would soon head up "Physical Security" at State. Otepka, Uanna and R. W. Scott McLeod
R. W. Scott McLeod
Robert Walter Scott McLeod was United States Assistant Secretary of State for Security and Consular Affairs from 1953 to 1957 and United States Ambassador to Ireland from 1957 to 1961.-Biography:...
, another newcomer in Security at State, were mentioned in a 1954 article in The Reporter (magazine)
The Reporter (magazine)
The Reporter was an American biweekly news magazine published in New York from 1949 through 1968.In its heyday it was viewed as a prestigious intellectual forum...
entitled "Big Brother at Foggy Bottom." The article describes how the State Department implemented Eisenhower's answer to McCarthy - Executive Order 10450
Executive Order 10450
President Dwight D. Eisenhower issued Executive Order 10450 in April 1953, effective May 27, 1953. It revoked Truman's 1947 Executive Order 9835 and dismantled its Loyalty Review Board...
- and the reaction to it by State's employees.
The Office of Security was often simply known as "SY" and in the 1980s became the Diplomatic Security Service
Diplomatic Security Service
The U.S. Diplomatic Security Service is the federal law enforcement arm of the United States Department of State. The majority of its Special Agents are members of the Foreign Service and federal law enforcement agents at the same time, making them unique...
. Otepka was in charge of vetting clearances for the State Department and he gained public attention when he was sidelined and then later fired by Secretary of State Dean Rusk
Dean Rusk
David Dean Rusk was the United States Secretary of State from 1961 to 1969 under presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. Rusk is the second-longest serving U.S...
. Otepka claimed he was punished for not clearing names proposed by the Kennedy administration for employment in the State Department. Some of these names had previously been banned during the Eisenhower administration, according to at least one source. Details concerning Otepka are outlined in The Ordeal of Otto Otepka.
By the late 1960s there was a Congressional hearing into the dismissal of Otepka but in the end Otepka was never returned to his previous station. He died in Cape Coral, Florida in March 2010.
External links
- BBC article on DSS
- U.S. Diplomatic Security Website
- Washington Post article on DS
- Diplomatic Security Special Agents Association
- Unofficial Diplomatic Security Special Agent Forum
- Mobile Security Deployments (MSD)
- Computer Investigations & Forensics Investigative Resource Page
- Office of Foreign Missions
- 2006 interview with Otto Otepka
- Otto Otepka's obituary