COLORFUL CIA CHIEF TOP ADMINISTRATOR

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-01601R001200360001-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: November 8, 2000
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: August 15, 1971
• Content Type: NSPR

Approved For Release 2 1 , i CIA-RDP80-016
ecdrer"ea1 C/IA Chief
#Lore
.Although most of his life is
"classified,'.' there are so me
things that Richard M. Helms
just can't keep hidden--his en-
gaging charm, his subtle wit,
his cool self-confidence.
In fact, these very-public
qualities have made Helms, di-
rector of the very-secret Cen- i
tral Intelligence Agency, one
of We most sought-after din-
ner guests in Washington. i
But the tall, handsome, col-
orful Helms is more than just
a suave party-goer who hap-
pens to have a "high-level gov-
ernment job. He. is also "a
dedicated and immensely pro-
fessional administrator, a forth-
right and honest- man," said
one federal official.
_ Joined in 1941
ti.
Helms, 59, joined t h. e CIA
shortly after it was created
in 1947. Over the years, he has
been involved in many top-se-
cret. international . intrigues, a
few of which have been made
public.
In 1955, for example, just af-
ter Nikita Khrushchev gave his
secret "de-Stalinization"
speech in Moscow, Helms, then
deputy director of the CIA's
clandestine services, devised a
way to use the speech to em-
barrass the Russians.
He directed agents to dum-
my tip copies of the speech and
insert insults about neutral na-
tions and their leaders. After
the "speech" was distributed
abroad, the red-faced Russians
had a difficult time explaining
what had happened.
Helms was appointed CIA
chief in 1966. He coordinates
all foreign intelligence activi-
ties, serves as'chief intelligence
adviser to the White House,
and sits as chairman of the
United S t a t e s Intelligence
Board, which advises him.
Helms learned his social
graces in Europe, where he
studied at fashionable schools
in Switzerland and Germany.
A native of St. Davids, Pa., he
was graduated in 1935 from
Williams College in Williams-
town, Mass., where he was
elected to Phi Beta Kappa.
?;II??'i OR Richard M.
Helms, director of the Central
Intelligence A g e n c y, is re-
s p o ii s i b l e for coordinating
U. S. foreign intelligence.
irtcrvic-%vs Hitler.
Helms then returned to Eu-
rope as a reporter.for a major
wire service. Utilizing his -flu-
ency in German (he also
speaks -French); Helms was
able to get an exclusive inter-
view with Adolf Hitler.
In 1937, he joined the Indian-
apolis Times Publishing Com-
pany and later became its na-
tional advertising -manager.
Then, during the Second World
War; he worked for the Office
of Strategic Services (OSS),
and as soon as the CIA was
created, he signed on. -
Through the years, he has
served in many capacities with
the CIA arid, thus, was well
prepared to become its director
in 1966.
Helms lives. in Washington
with his second wife, Cynthia,
whom he married in 1969. They
have five grown children.
.Approved For Release 2001/03/04: CIA-RDP80-01601 R001200360001-2