biography
| name: |
Helms, Richard (McGarrah)
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| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (1913–2002)
|
| biography:
| Intelligence officer, born in Pennsylvania, USA. He studied in Switzerland and in the USA at Williams College, becoming a journalist, then joining the US Navy in 1942. After World War 2 he joined the newly formed Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and rose to become the organization's director in 1966. He was dismissed by President Nixon in 1973 after refusing to help block an investigation into the Watergate scandal, and appointed ambassador to Iran (1973–7). In 1977 he was convicted of lying before a congressional committee, but argued that his oath as head of the intelligence service required him to keep secrets from the public. |
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