Richard Helms

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Richard Helms while serving as CIA director

Richard McGarrah Helms (born March 30, 1913 in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , † October 23, 2002 in Washington, DC ) was an American intelligence official whose career culminated in a seven-year term as Director of Central Intelligence . His responsibility includes the destruction of a large part of the records on the MKULTRA project and the US intervention in Chile in the early 1970s.

Life

Helms grew up in South Orange , New Jersey . After completing his school career at the prestigious Williams College in Williamstown (Massachusetts) , the United Press news agency sent him to Berlin as a reporter , from where he covered the Olympic Games . He later described an interview with Adolf Hitler as his greatest journalistic scoop . During the Second World War , Helms was employed by the United States Navy until he came to the Office of Strategic Services in 1943 because of his knowledge of German, which he had acquired at the Swiss boarding school Le Rosey . After further positions in sub-organizations of the CIA , which among other things took him to Vietnam in the early 1960s , he became director of the CIA in 1966. He was the first spy to exercise this office. In 1973, President Nixon replaced Helms with James R. Schlesinger , allegedly because [Helms] refused to allow the break-in of the Watergate Hotel, the Democratic election headquarters , under the guise of a CIA operation . He is Nixon as ambassador in Iran displaced , where he remained until 1976th In 1977 he was sentenced to two years probation for false testimony before Congress in the questioning about the role of the CIA in the 1973 coup in Chile . He later worked as a consultant for companies that wanted to invest abroad.

Relatives of the Chilean General René Schneider , who was murdered in 1970 by opponents Salvador Allende , filed a lawsuit against Helms, Henry Kissinger and other people allegedly involved in the murder in 2001 ; the lawsuit was dismissed. The on multiple myeloma sufferer Helms died in 2002 at the age of 89 years. His final resting place is Arlington National Cemetery .

He was married twice and had a son from his first marriage. The book A Look Over My Shoulder: A Life in the Central Intelligence Agency, co-written with William Hood, was published posthumously by Random House in 2003.

literature

  • Richard Helms, William Hood: A Look Over My Shoulder: A Life in the Central Intelligence Agency. Random House, New York 2003, ISBN 0-375-50012-X
  • Thomas Powers: The man who kept the secrets: Richard Helms & the CIA. Knopf, New York 1979, ISBN 0-394-50777-0

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Gabriel Kolko: Vietnam and Iraq: The Unwanted Knowledge of the CIA. Decisions about war and peace are often based on projections: The public only learns afterwards how real the alleged threat was. In Vietnam, as in Iraq, information from the secret services was manipulated into preconceived decisions. In: Le Monde diplomatique . April 13, 2006, archived from the original on February 16, 2015 ; Retrieved February 18, 2015 .
  2. ↑ a b Richard Helms, former CIA director, dies at age 89 - Richard M. Helms dies at 89; Dashing Ex-Chief of the CIA October 23, 2002, archived from the original August 8, 2004 ; Retrieved February 18, 2015 (English, one page with two obituaries to Richard Helms).
  3. ↑ Bill Miller: Family of Slain Chilean Sues Kissinger, Helms; Military Leader Was Killed in Kidnap Attempt Linked to Nixon Administration. In: Washington Post . September 11, 2001, archived from the original on April 26, 2003 ; accessed on February 18, 2015 .

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Helms, Richard
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Helms, Richard McGarrah (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American intelligence official
DATE OF BIRTH March 30, 1913
PLACE OF BIRTH Philadelphia , Pennsylvania
DATE OF DEATH October 23, 2002
Place of death Washington, DC