WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - President-elect Biden nominated former U.S. Ambassador to Russia William J. Burns as the new CIA Director.
64-year-old Burns, who retired from the U.S. Foreign Service in 2014 after 33-year long diplomatic career, would be the first career diplomat to head the Central Intelligence Agency.
In a statement announcing his nomination, Biden said, 'The American people will sleep soundly with him as our next CIA Director.'
He has served in a number of national security positions across five Democratic and Republican presidential administrations.
Burns served as Deputy Secretary of State from 2011 to 2014 under Barack Obama's Secretary of State John Kerry.
He was elevated to that post after serving as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs from 2008 to 2011, U.S. Ambassador to Russia from 2005 to 2008, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs from 2001 to 2005, and U.S. Ambassador to Jordan from 1998 to 2001.
Burns is the president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the oldest international affairs think tank in the United States.
He has received three Presidential Distinguished Service Awards and the highest civilian honors from the Pentagon and the U.S. intelligence community.
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