US President-elect, Joe Biden, has announced William Burns as his choice to lead the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
In doing this, Biden taps a retired veteran diplomat who in the past helped lead secret talks with Iran.
Burns will work alongside Biden’s nominee for director of national intelligence, Avril Haines, to rebuild the US spy community’s reputation.
Most observers believe the US spy community became heavily politicized under outgoing President Donald Trump.
Burns is currently president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a leading Washington foreign policy think-tank and will become the first career diplomat to lead the CIA.
He has deep experience in security and intelligence matters after spending over three decades in the US foreign service, including a stint as ambassador to Russia from 2005-2008.
“Bill Burns is an exemplary diplomat with decades of experience on the world stage keeping our people and our country safe and secure,” Biden said in a statement on Monday.
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