| Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation |
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|---|---|
FBI seal |
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| Appointer | Barack Hussein Obama
as President
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| Inaugural holder | Stanley Finch (BOI) J. Edgar Hoover (FBI) |
| Formation | 1908 (as Director of the BOI) |
| Website | www.fbi.gov |
The Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation is the head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and responsible for the day-to-day operations. Along with the Deputy Director, the director ensures cases and operations are handled correctly. The director also is in charge of staffing the leadership in any one of the FBI field offices with qualified agents. The director would brief the President on any issues that arise from within the FBI until the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 was enacted in response to the September 11 attacks. Since then, the director reports to the Director of National Intelligence, who in turn reports to the President.[1]
Directors are appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the Senate. In theory, they serve ten-year terms unless they resign, die, or are let go before their term is up; in reality, none have served a full ten years, except J. Edgar Hoover and Robert Mueller, each of whom served longer than ten years. J. Edgar Hoover, appointed by Calvin Coolidge, was by far the longest-serving director; he held the position from 1935 until his death in 1972 because there was no law limiting service time. The current FBI director is Robert Mueller, who was appointed in 2001 by George W. Bush and, at the request of Barack Obama, was authorized by the Senate on July 27, 2011, to serve for a total of 12 years (two years beyond the regular limit).[2] All others have left before reaching the limit, due to resignation, retirement, promotion, or other reasons.
| # | Picture | Name | Period[3] | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stanley Finch | July 26, 1908 – April 30, 1912 | ||
| 2 | A. Bruce Bielaski | April 30, 1912 – February 10, 1919 | ||
| — | William E. Allen | February 10, 1919 – June 30, 1919 | Acting | |
| 3 | William J. Flynn | July 1, 1919 – August 21, 1921 | ||
| 4 | William J. Burns | August 22, 1921 – May 10, 1924 | ||
| 5 | J. Edgar Hoover | May 10, 1924 – June 30, 1935 |
| # | Picture | Name | Period[3] | Length | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | J. Edgar Hoover | July 1, 1935 – May 2, 1972 | 36 years, 10 months | Died in office | |
| — | L. Patrick Gray | May 3, 1972 – April 27, 1973 | Acting (11 months) | ||
| — | William Ruckelshaus | April 30, 1973 – July 9, 1973 | Acting (3 months) | ||
| 2 | Clarence M. Kelley | July 9, 1973 – February 15, 1978 | 4 years, 6 months | ||
| — | James B. Adams | February 15, 1978 – February 23, 1978 | Acting | ||
| 3 | William H. Webster | February 23, 1978 – May 25, 1987 | 9 years, 3 months | ||
| — | John E. Otto | May 26, 1987 – November 2, 1987 | Acting (7 months) | ||
| 4 | William S. Sessions | November 2, 1987 – July 19, 1993 | 6 years, 8 months | ||
| — | Floyd I. Clarke | July 19, 1993 – September 1, 1993 | Acting (2 months) | ||
| 5 | Louis Freeh | September 1, 1993 – June 25, 2001 | 7 years, 9 months | ||
| — | Thomas J. Pickard | June 25, 2001 – September 4, 2001 | Acting (3 months) | ||
| 6 | Robert Mueller | September 4, 2001 – Present |
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