Michael Hayden (general)

Michael Hayden (general)

Michael Vincent Hayden (born March 17, 1945) is a retired United States Air Force four-star general and former Director of the National Security Agency and Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. From April 21, 2005 to May 26, 2006 he was the Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence, a position which once made him "the highest-ranking military intelligence officer in the armed forces".

He was Director of the National Security Agency (NSA) from 1999 to 2005. During his tenure as director, the longest in the history of the agency, he oversaw the controversial NSA surveillance of technological communications between persons in the United States and alleged foreign terrorist groups, which resulted in the NSA warrantless surveillance controversy.

On May 8, 2006, Hayden was nominated for the position of CIA Director and reappointment to the rank of general following the May 5 resignation of Porter J. Goss, and on May 23 the Senate Intelligence Committee voted 12–3 to send the nomination to the Senate floor. His nomination was confirmed by the United States Senate on May 26 by a vote of 78–15. On May 30, 2006 and again the following day at the CIA lobby with President George W. Bush in attendance, Hayden was sworn in as the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

On July 1, 2008, Hayden retired from the Air Force after nearly 39 years of active-duty military service and continued to serve as Director of the CIA until 12 February 2009. He is currently a principal at the Chertoff Group, a security consultancy co-founded by former Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. Hayden also serves as a Distinguished Visiting Professor at George Mason University School of Public Policy and was elected to the Board of Directors of Motorola Solutions effective January 4, 2011.