The National Intelligence Authority (NIA) was the
United States Government
The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a feder ...
authority responsible for monitoring the Central Intelligence Group (CIG), the successor intelligence agency of the
Office of Strategic Services established by President
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...
's
presidential directive
A presidential directive, or executive action, is a written or oral instruction or declaration issued by the president of the United States, which may draw upon the powers vested in the president by the U.S. Constitution, statutory law, or, in cert ...
of 22 January 1946 in the aftermath of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
. The National Intelligence Authority and Central Intelligence Group were both replaced respectively by the
National Security Council and the
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
under the
National Security Act of 1947, which was implemented on 18 September 1947.
History
Despite opposition from the military establishment, the
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...
, and the
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...
(FBI), President Truman established the National Intelligence Authority on 22 January 1946. The National Intelligence Authority and its operational extension, the Central Intelligence Group (CIG), was disestablished after twenty months. The disestablishment of the NIA and CIG came with the
National Security Act of 1947 which established the
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
and the
National Security Council.
Membership
The NIA was composed of the
Secretary of State,
Secretary of War
The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...
,
Secretary of the Navy
The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States Department of Defense.
By law, the se ...
, and a personal representative of President Truman.
The board oversaw the activities of the CIG, which was headed by the
Director of Central Intelligence (DCI),
[ who was a nonvoting member of the NIA.] The first DCI was Sidney Souers
Sidney William Souers (March 30, 1892 – January 14, 1973) was an American admiral and intelligence expert.
Rear Admiral Souers was appointed as the first Director of Central Intelligence on January 23, 1946 by President Harry S. Truman, where ...
.
See also
* History of the Central Intelligence Agency
The United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was created on September 18, 1947, when Harry S. Truman signed the National Security Act of 1947 into law. A major impetus that has been cited over the years for the creation of the CIA was t ...
References
Central Intelligence Agency
1947 establishments in the United States
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