Ratcliffe, who "secretly visited" Moscow. Who is the US chief intelligence officer?
At the end of August, the unexpected visit of US Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe to Russia caused a great sensation. The CIA director visited Russia for the first time since the start of the war. Ratcliffe is an inconspicuous, mysterious official. Therefore, his visit aroused great interest in the media. On this occasion, we will also focus on who is leading the most powerful intelligence organization in the world.
Ratcliffe, who "secretly visited" Moscow. Who is the US chief intelligence officer?
This agency, which you are used to hearing as "CIA" in movies, is undoubtedly one of the most powerful organizations in the world. Its task is to engage in foreign intelligence. However, you have also seen many times in those movies that the CIA is not limited only to intelligence, but also conducts secret operations in countries where American interests clash.
The CIA's annual budget reaches 30 billion dollars, and the number of its employees exceeds 20,000. Despite this, unlike the intelligence agencies of other countries, it is considered a civilian, not a military organization. Our hero of today, John Ratcliffe, was the Director of National Intelligence during Trump's first presidential term. In his second term, he is serving as the Director of the CIA.
Born in 1965 into a family of teachers, John studied law at the University of Notre Dame after graduating from school. Later, he also obtained a doctoral degree in law. Naturally, he worked as a lawyer for several years.
In 2004, our hero's political career began. He won the election for mayor of the small town of Heath in the state of Texas. Having won the subsequent elections as well, he governed the town until 2012. Starting from 2004, when he began his mayoral activity, he became the representative of the George W. Bush administration for counter-terrorism and national security at the US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Texas.
In 2008, Ratcliffe became a counter-terrorism advisor to the US government. In 2009-2014, as a founder of a private company, he was mainly engaged in providing legal assistance to individuals participating in presidential and gubernatorial elections.
In 2014, the Republican Ratcliffe was elected to the House of Representatives from Texas. 400 thousand dollars were raised for his election campaign. One of the donors was former US Attorney General John Ashcroft. In 2018, they wrote that Ratcliffe would become the US Attorney General, but Trump had prepared an even bigger position for him. President Trump dismissed Dan Coats, the Director of National Intelligence with whom he had disagreed, and nominated John Ratcliffe in his place.
Senators did not have enough information about Ratcliffe, which is why the Senate did not support his candidacy. In February 2020, Trump put forward Ratcliffe's candidacy for the position of Director of National Intelligence for the second time. This time the Senate confirmed him, and the 44-year-old Ratcliffe became the head of one of the most important organizations in the US. However, his leadership did not last long. After Trump lost the election, Ratcliffe also left his post.