William Joseph Burns

William Joseph Burns
8th Director of the Central Intelligence Agency
Incumbent
Assumed office March 19 2021
President	Joe Biden
Deputy	David S. Cohen
Preceded by	Gina Haspel
Succeeded by	William Ratcliffe (nominee)
17th United States Deputy Secretary of State
In office July 28, 2011 – November 3, 2014
President	Barack Obama
Preceded by	James Steinberg
Succeeded by	Antony Blinken
United States Secretary of State
Acting
In office January 20, 2009 – January 21, 2009
President	Barack Obama
Preceded by	Condoleezza Rice
Succeeded by	Hillary Clinton
Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs
In office May 13, 2008 – July 28, 2011
President	George W. Bush Barack Obama
Preceded by	R. Nicholas Burns
Succeeded by	Wendy Sherman
5th United States Ambassador to Russia
In office November 8, 2005 – May 13, 2008
President	George W. Bush
Preceded by	Alexander Vershbow
Succeeded by	John Beyrle
Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs
In office June 4, 2001 – March 2, 2005
President	George W. Bush
Preceded by	Edward S. Walker Jr.
Succeeded by	David Welch
United States Ambassador to Jordan
In office August 9, 1998 – June 4, 2001
President	Bill Clinton George W. Bush
Preceded by	Wesley Egan
Succeeded by	Edward Gnehm
Executive Secretary of the United States Department of State
In office January 16, 1996 – February 27, 1998
President	Bill Clinton
Preceded by	Kenneth C. Brill
Succeeded by	Kristie Kenney
Personal details
Born	(1956-04-04) April 4, 1956 (age 68) Fort Bragg, North Carolina, U.S.
Education	La Salle University (BA) St John's College, Oxford (MPhil, DPhil)

William Joseph Burns (born April 11, 1956) is an American politician. Burns is the 8th Director of the Central Intelligence Agency since March 19, 2021 during the Joe Biden administration. He was President of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.^[1] He was United States Deputy Secretary of State from 2011 to 2014.

He was Ambassador of the United States to Jordan from 1998 to 2001, Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs from 2001 to 2005, Ambassador of the United States to the Russian Federation from 2005 to 2008, and Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs from 2008 to 2011.^[2]

On January 11, 2021, President-elect Joe Biden nominated him to be Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.^[3] On March 18, 2021 the United States Senate confirmed his nomination.^[4]

In July 2023, Biden elevated Burns to a position in his cabinet, a largely symbolic action.^[5]

1. ↑ "Ambassador William J. Burns Named Next Carnegie President". National Endowment for Democracy (NEFD). 28 October 2014. Archived from the original on January 11, 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
2. ↑ "Career Ambassadors - Principal Officers - People - Department History - Office of the Historian". history.state.gov. Archived from the original on July 12, 2011. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
3. ↑ "Biden Names Career Diplomat William J. Burns As Nominee For CIA Director". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on January 11, 2021. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
4. ↑ CNN, Jeremy Herb. "Senate confirms William Burns to be next CIA director after Cruz lifts hold". CNN. Retrieved 2021-03-18. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
5. ↑ Shear, Michael D. (2023-07-21). "Biden Elevates C.I.A. Director to Become a Member of the Cabinet". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-07-21.