John M. Deutch

{{Short description|American civil servant and physical chemist (born 1938)}}

{{Infobox Officeholder

| image = File:John_Deutch,_Undersecretary_of_Defense,_1993_official_photo.JPEG

| caption =

| office = 17th Director of Central Intelligence

| president = Bill Clinton

| deputy = William O. Studeman
George Tenet

| term_start = May 10, 1995

| term_end = December 15, 1996

| predecessor = James Woolsey

| successor = George Tenet

| office1 = 24th United States Deputy Secretary of Defense

| president1 = Bill Clinton

| term_start1 = March 11, 1994

| term_end1 = May 10, 1995{{Cite web |url=http://www.whs.mil/library/Key47-04/III.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2017-02-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110516011431/http://www.whs.mil/library/Key47-04/III.pdf |archive-date=2011-05-16 |url-status=dead }}

| predecessor1 = William Perry

| successor1 = John P. White

| office2 = Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Technology

| president2 = Bill Clinton

| term_start2 = April 2, 1993

| term_end2 = March 11, 1994

| predecessor2 = Donald Yockey

| successor2 = Paul G. Kaminski

| birth_name = John Mark Deutch

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1938|7|27}}

| birth_place = Brussels, Belgium

| death_date =

| death_place =

| party =

| spouse = {{plainlist|

{{marriage|Samayla Dodek|1961|1985|end=divorced}}
{{marriage|Patricia Lyon Martin|1995}}

}}

| children = 3 (with Dodek)

| education = Amherst College (BA)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MS, PhD)

}}

John Mark Deutch (born July 27, 1938) is an American civil servant and physical chemist. He was the United States Deputy Secretary of Defense from 1994 to 1995 and Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) from May 10, 1995, until December 15, 1996. He is an emeritus Institute Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and serves on the boards of directors of Citigroup, Cummins, Raytheon, and Schlumberger. Deutch is also a member of the Trilateral Commission.{{cite web |url=http://trilateral.org/download/files/NA%20members%20SEPTEMBER%202015.pdf |title=The Trilateral Commission, September 2015 [membership list] |publisher=The Trilateral Commission |access-date=22 March 2018 |archive-date=18 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418083723/http://trilateral.org/download/files/NA%20members%20SEPTEMBER%202015.pdf |url-status=dead }}

Background

Deutch was born in Brussels, Belgium, the son of Rachel Felicia (Fischer) and Michael Joseph Deutch.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1Jc9wBsImOIC&q=john+mark+deutch+brussels&pg=PA75|title=Encyclopedia of the Central Intelligence Agency|first=W. Thomas|last=Smith|date=22 March 2018|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=9781438130187|access-date=22 March 2018|via=Google Books}} He is of Russian Jewish heritage, and became a United States citizen in 1945.{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/books-and-monographs/directors-and-deputy-directors-of-central-intelligence/deutch.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070613233700/https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/books-and-monographs/directors-and-deputy-directors-of-central-intelligence/deutch.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 13, 2007|title=John Deutch — Central Intelligence Agency|website=www.cia.gov|access-date=22 March 2018}} He graduated from the Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C. and earned a bachelor's degree in history and economics from Amherst College. In 1961, Deutch earned a Master of Science degree in chemical engineering and, in 1966, he earned a PhD in chemistry, both from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He holds honorary degrees from Amherst College, University of Massachusetts Lowell, and Northeastern University.

From 1977 to 1980, he served in several positions at the United States Department of Energy (DOE), including as director of energy research, acting assistant secretary for energy technology, and undersecretary of the department. In 1978, Deutch published two physical chemistry papers (in Combustion and Flame, 1978, vol 231 pp. 215–221 and 223-229) on modeling the mechanism of the fuel/air mixture. He served as the provost of MIT from 1985 to 1990. As MIT's dean of science and provost, Deutch oversaw the disbanding of the department of applied biological sciences, including its toxicology faculty. Furthermore, in December 2012, he was elected to the Board of Trustees for the MIT-Russia Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology.https://www.skoltech.ru/sites/default/files/Sk_newsletter_print_version5.pdf#page=7 {{Bare URL inline|date=August 2024}}

Director of Central Intelligence tenure

In 1995, President Bill Clinton appointed him Director of Central Intelligence. As Deutch was initially reluctant to accept the appointment, the position was conferred with Cabinet rank, a prerequisite ultimately retained by successor George Tenet through the end of the Clinton administration. At the time of his appointment, The New York Times quoted activist Noam Chomsky, a prominent critic of U.S. foreign policy and of the CIA, as saying, "He has more honesty and integrity than anyone I've ever met in academic life, or any other life... If somebody's got to be running the C.I.A., I'm glad it's him."{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/12/10/magazine/the-cia-s-most-important-mission-itself.html|title=The C.I.A.'s most Important Mission: Itself|first=Tim|last=Weiner|newspaper=The New York Times|date=December 10, 1995}}

As head of the CIA, Deutch continued the policy of his predecessor R. James Woolsey to declassify records pertaining to U.S. covert operations during the Cold War.{{Cite web|url=http://www.foia.cia.gov/special_collections.asp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071230103930/http://www.foia.cia.gov/special_collections.asp|url-status=dead|title="CIA's Historical Review Program", National Archives (NARA) electronic collections|archive-date=December 30, 2007}}

In 1996, Deutch took the unusual step of traveling to Locke High School in Los Angeles to address reports that the CIA had facilitated the introduction of crack cocaine into Los Angeles.{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-11-16-mn-65300-story.html|title=CIA Head Speaks in L.A. To Counter Crack Claims|website=Los Angeles Times |date=16 November 1996}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/11/16/us/cia-chief-visits-watts-to-counter-crack-talk.html|title = C.I.A. Chief Visits Watts to Counter Crack Talk|newspaper = The New York Times|date = 16 November 1996|last1 = Ayres|first1 = B. Drummond Jr.}} Speaking to a hostile crowd, Deutch denied any connection between the CIA and cocaine traffic in Los Angeles and vowed to open an investigation. The meeting was prompted by allegations published by journalist Gary Webb that connected the CIA to the California cocaine trade and trafficker Danilo Blandón.{{cite web |url=http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/gary-webb-cia-drug-running-story-061813 |title=Gary Webb And The Limits Of Vindication |first=Charles P. |last=Pierce |date=June 18, 2013 |work=Esquire |access-date=November 11, 2018 |archive-date=December 23, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141223023349/http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/gary-webb-cia-drug-running-story-061813 |url-status=live }}

Deutch fell out of favor with the Clinton administration because of public testimony he gave to Congress on Iraq. Specifically, Deutch testified that Saddam Hussein was stronger than he had been four years earlier and that the CIA might never be able to remedy the issue. After he won reelection, Clinton replaced Deutch.Doyle McManus, "Clinton Appears Set to Pick Lake as CIA Director," Los Angeles Times (04 December 1996)'Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA’, by: Tim Weiner (paperback, 2008), p.535

File:President Clinton and CIA Director John Deutch - Flickr - The Central Intelligence Agency.jpg

Deutch left the CIA on December 15, 1996. Soon after, it was revealed that several of his laptop computers contained classified information wrongfully labeled as unclassified.{{cite news |title=Improper Hnadling of Classified Information By John M. Deutch |author=Snider, L. Britt |url=https://fas.org/irp/cia/product/ig_deutch.html |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency Inspector General |date=February 18, 2000}} In January 1997, the CIA began a formal security investigation of the matter. Senior management at CIA declined to fully pursue the security breach. Over two years after his departure, the matter was referred to the Department of Justice, where Attorney General Janet Reno declined prosecution. She did, however, recommend an investigation to determine whether Deutch should retain his security clearance.[https://fas.org/irp/cia/product/ig_deutch.html Central Intelligence Agency Inspector General Report of Investigation Improper Handling of Classified Information By John M. Deutch], February 18, 2000 Deutch had agreed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor for mishandling government secrets on January 19, 2001, but President Clinton pardoned him on his last day in office, two days before the Justice Department could file the case against him.Ross, Sonya, [https://web.archive.org/web/20080725004033/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/20010120/aponline104904_000.htm "Clinton Pardons More Than 100"], Washington Post, January 20, 2001[https://web.archive.org/web/20150915130331/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/20010124/aponline163741_000.htm Ex-CIA Head Planned Guilty Plea], "Washington Post", January 24, 2001

File:JohnDeutch-EnergySeminar-Jan2020.png, 2020.]]

Board memberships and fellowships

Deutch was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 2007.{{Cite web|title=APS Member History|url=https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?creator=John+Deutch&title=&subject=&subdiv=&mem=&year=&year-max=&dead=&keyword=&smode=advanced|access-date=2021-05-17|website=search.amphilsoc.org}} He has been a member of the National Petroleum Council since 2008 and the Secretary of DOE Energy Advisory Board since 2010.{{cite web |url=http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/experts/5/john_m_deutch.html |title=John M. Deutch |website=Harvard.edu |access-date=24 Apr 2014}} In 1988, Deutch was elected as a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.{{Cite web |last=Incorporated |first=Prime |title=National Academy of Public Administration |url=https://napawash.org/fellow/14375 |access-date=2023-02-07 |website=National Academy of Public Administration |language=en}}

Personal life

In June 2003, his son Philip Joseph Deutch (from his first marriage), then a managing director and venture capitalist at Perseus LLC, married Marne Levine, who later served as the COO of Instagram.{{cite news|title=WEDDINGS/CELEBRATIONS; Marne Levine, Philip Deutch|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/22/style/weddings-celebrations-marne-levine-philip-deutch.html|access-date=14 February 2018|work=New York Times|date=22 June 2003}}

Sources

External links

[http://web.mit.edu/chemistry/deutch/biography.html Deutch's MIT Biography]
[https://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_6C71FD2938E14A07B7F0C2CA0E417F23 War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Reagan's Shield: An Interview with John Deutch], WGBH December 1987
[https://archive.today/20130118151926/http://www.businessweek.com/1996/09/b3464116.htm "Nora Slatkin's Mission Impossible: The CIA," BusinessWeek] Feb. 26, 1996 — About the executive director hired by Deutch to improve diversity at the CIA.
{{C-SPAN|29875}}

{{s-ttl|title=United States Deputy Secretary of Defense|years=1994–1995}}