Allen Welsh Dulles

Allen Welsh Dulles , 1893-1969, U.S. public official, b. Watertown, N.Y.; brother of John Foster Dulles . He entered (1916) diplomatic service and became (1922) chief of the State Deptartment's division of Near Eastern affairs. In 1926 he resigned to practice law. During World War II he was a prominent member of the Office of Strategic Services. Returning (1951) to government service as deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency , Dulles became director in 1953. Under his direction the CIA was strengthened and made a more effective element in the U.S. intelligence system. Dulles resigned in 1961 after a series of events (most notably the Bay of Pigs Invasion of Cuba) in which the CIA played a controversial role that aroused much criticism. His works include Germany's Underground (1947), The Craft of Intelligence (1963), and Secret Surrender (1966).

Bibliography: See P. Grose, Gentleman Spy (1994).

Dulles, Allen Welsh (1893–1969) director of the Central Intelligence Agency (1953-61), an organization which he helped establish. Dulles, born in Watertown, New York, was generally well-regarded despite such significant failures during his tenure as the Soviet downing of a U-2 spy plane over Russian territory and the Bay of Pigs fiasco (1961), which ended his career. Dulles was active in the State Department's Foreign Service during World War I and in the Office of Strategic Services during World War II. Dulles practiced law with his older brother, John Foster Dulles.