John Magaw

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John Magaw

John W. Magaw was a United States Government administrator. He was born in Columbus, Ohio and received a bachelor of science degree in education from Otterbein College, in Westerville, Ohio. He began his career in public service in 1959 as a trooper with the Ohio State Patrol.

He then became a special agent with the United States Secret Service in 1967. While he was at the Secret Service he served as deputy special agent in charge of the Vice Presidential protective division and head of the Washington Field office. By 1992, Magaw was in charge of all protective operations for the President and First family. Magaw was director of the United States Secret Service from 1992 to 1993.

Magaw was Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (BATF) from 1993 to 1999, at a time when the agency came under criticism of the Waco Texas tragedy.

Magaw was appointed as the Senior Advisor to the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for terrorism preparedness in December 1999. In that role, he planned and coordinated FEMA's domestic terrorism preparedness efforts.

Magaw served as the Acting Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency from January 20, 2001 through February 15, 2001. After the confirmation of Joe Allbaugh he held various other positions within FEMA.

In January 2002, Magaw was confirmed as the Under Secretary of the Transportation Security Administration within the United States Department of Transportation. As head of TSA, Magaw oversaw the initial standup of the agency. He came under criticism by some for refusing to allow pilots to be armed. In June 2002, Magaw resigned and was replaced by former United States Coast Guard Admiral James Loy.

Magaw has received the 1991 and 1999 Presidential Rank Meritorious Award and, in 1995, received the Presidential Rank Distinguished Award.