William Hedgcock Webster (born March 6, 1924) is an American attorney and jurist who most recently served as chair of the

Homeland Security Advisory Council The Homeland Security Advisory Council (HSAC) is part of the Executive Office of the President of the United States. It was created by an Executive Order In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the Unite ...

from 2005 until 2020. He was a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...

of the

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri (in case citations, E.D. Mo.) is a trial level federal district court based in St. Louis, Missouri, with jurisdiction over fifty counties in the eastern half of Missouri. T ...

and a United States circuit judge of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (in case citations, 8th Cir.) is a United States federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the following United States district courts: * Eastern District of Arkansas * Western Dist ...

before becoming director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from 1978 to 1987 and director of Central Intelligence (CIA) from 1987 to 1991. He is the only person to have held both positions.

Education and career

Early life

Webster was born in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

, and received his early education in

Webster Groves, Missouri Webster Groves is an inner-ring suburb of St. Louis in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. The population was 22,995 at the 2010 census. The city is home to the main campus of Webster University. Geography Webster Groves is located at ...

;"Interview of Judge William H. Webster "
March 2006, Society of Former Special Agents of the FBI, Inc and served as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during

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 ...

. Following his service in the Navy, he received his

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

degree from Amherst College, Amherst,

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, in 1947. While at Amherst, he was a member of the

Psi Upsilon Psi Upsilon (), commonly known as Psi U, is a North American fraternity,''Psi Upsilon Tablet'' founded at Union College on November 24, 1833. The fraternity reports 50 chapters at colleges and universities throughout North America, some of which ...

fraternity. He received his from the

Washington University School of Law Washington University in St. Louis School of Law (WashULaw) is the law school of Washington University in St. Louis, a private university in St. Louis, Missouri. WashULaw has consistently ranked among the top law schools in the country; it is c ...

in 1949. After law school, he served in the Navy again during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

; later, he joined the St. Louis law firm Armstrong Teasdale, but left private practice soon after to begin a career in public service. He was the

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

for the Eastern District of Missouri from 1960 to 1961, then a member of the Missouri Board of Law Examiners from 1964 to 1969.

Federal judicial service

Webster was nominated by President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

on December 8, 1970, to the

, to a new seat created by 84 Stat. 294. He was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

on December 17, 1970, and received his commission on December 21, 1970. His service was terminated on August 10, 1973, due to elevation to the Eighth Circuit. Webster was nominated by President Nixon on June 13, 1973, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge Marion Charles Matthes. He was confirmed by the Senate on July 13, 1973, and received his commission on July 18, 1973. His service was terminated on February 22, 1978, due to his resignation.

Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (1978–1987)

In 1978, President Jimmy Carter appointed him as director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation."Interview with William H. Webster"
, 2005, The Miller Center This was despite Webster being a registered Republican. Webster was portrayed by actor Sean Cullen in Season 2 of the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...

show ''Mindhunter'', which took place during his tenure as director of the

FBI 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, t ...

Director of Central Intelligence (1987–1991)

In 1987, President Ronald Reagan chose him to be director of the Central Intelligence Agency. He led the CIA until his retirement from public office in 1991. Since then, Webster has practiced law at the

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, office of

Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy Milbank LLP (commonly known as Milbank) is an international law firm headquartered in New York City. It also has offices in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, London, Frankfurt, Munich, Tokyo, Hong Kong, São Paulo, Seoul, Singapore, and Beijing. H ...

, where he specializes in arbitration, mediation and internal investigation.

Public Company Accounting Oversight Board

In 2002, he was the first chairman of the

Public Company Accounting Oversight Board The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) is a nonprofit corporation created by the Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002 to oversee the audits of public companies and other issuers in order to protect the interests of investors and further t ...

(PCAOB). However, his appointment was controversial, and another controversy erupted when newspapers reported that Webster had headed the board

audit committee An audit committee is a committee of an organisation's board of directors which is responsible for oversight of the financial reporting process, selection of the independent auditor, and receipt of audit results both internal and external. In a U ...

of U.S. Technologies, a high-tech company being investigated for

accounting irregularities An accounting irregularity is an entry or statement that does not conform to the normal laws, practises and rules of the accounting profession, having the deliberate intent to deceive or defraud. Accounting irregularities can consist of intentiona ...

and accused of fraud. Webster resigned less than three weeks after the PCAOB was set up. Webster was the longtime chairman of the

, from 2005 to 2020. In 2020, Webster, along with over 130 other former Republican national security officials, signed a statement that asserted that President Trump was unfit to serve another term, and "To that end, we are firmly convinced that it is in the best interest of our nation that Vice President Joe Biden be elected as the next President of the United States, and we will vote for him."

Honors and awards

Webster received numerous honors and awards for his service. Washington University granted him the Alumni Citation for contributions to the field of law in 1972 and in 1981 he received the William Greenleaf Eliot Award. In 1984, he received the U.S. Senator John Heinz Award for Greatest Public Service by an Elected or Appointed Official, an award given out annually by Jefferson Awards. In 1999 the School of Law created the Webster Society, an outstanding scholars program. Furthermore, he received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the university's law school in 1977. The '' St. Louis Globe-Democrat'' named him "Man of the Year". In 1978, he received the Golden Plate Award of the

American Academy of Achievement The American Academy of Achievement, colloquially known as the Academy of Achievement, is a non-profit educational organization that recognizes some of the highest achieving individuals in diverse fields and gives them the opportunity to meet ...

. Webster also received honorary degrees from several colleges and universities. In 1991, he was presented the

Distinguished Intelligence Medal The Distinguished Intelligence Medal is awarded by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency for performance of outstanding services or for achievement of a distinctly exceptional nature in a duty or responsibility. Recipients This list includes only ...

, the

Presidential Medal of Freedom The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, along with the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by the president of the United States to recognize people who have made "an especially merit ...

, and the

National Security Medal The National Security Medal is a decoration of the United States of America officially established by President Harry S. Truman in Executive Order 10431 of January 19, 1953. The medal was originally awarded to any person, without regard to natio ...

. In June 2008 Webster received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree as well as honorary doctorates from The Institute of World Politics and

National Intelligence University The National Intelligence University (NIU), formerly known as the Defense Intelligence School, the Defense Intelligence College, the Joint Military Intelligence College, and the National Defense Intelligence College is a federally chartered resea ...

. He received the

William J. Donovan William Joseph "Wild Bill" Donovan (January 1, 1883 – February 8, 1959) was an American soldier, lawyer, intelligence officer and diplomat, best known for serving as the head of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the precursor to the Bur ...

Award from The OSS Society in 2005 and serves as an honorary chairman of this organization. Webster is a member of the

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of aca ...

, the Council of the American Law Institute, the

Order of the Coif The Order of the Coif is an honor society for United States law school graduates. The name is a reference to the ancient English order of advocates, the serjeants-at-law, whose courtroom attire included a coif—a white lawn or silk skullcap, whi ...

, The Missouri Bar, the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis and the

fraternity. Additionally, he served as chairman of the Corporation, Banking and Business Law Section of the American Bar Association. He is a fellow of the American Bar Foundation and an Honorary Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. He served as co-chairman of the Homeland Security Advisory Council. In 2009, he was named to head an independent investigation of the FBI's actions surrounding the Fort Hood shooting. Webster also serves as an honorary director on the board of directors at the Atlantic Council.

Personal life

He was married for 34 years to Drusilla Lane until her death in 1984 and the couple had three children: Drusilla L. Busch, William H. Webster Jr. and Katherine H. Roessle. In 1990, he married Lynda Clugston. They reside in Washington, D.C. In 2015, William and Lynda Webster were targeted by a man who peddled a lottery scam over phone calls and emails. Over multiple phone calls, Keniel Aeon Thomas of Jamaica told the Websters he'd set their house ablaze or have a sniper shoot them in the back of the head if they didn't pay him thousands of dollars, according to prosecutors' filings. The Websters used their friendship with people at the FBI to help send the scammer to prison for nearly six years in early 2019.

Quotes

On March 3, 2002, the

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduates and 2,983 graduate students enrolled in 2021–2022. It is part of the U ...

, held a debate titled "National Security vs. Personal Liberty". The guest speakers were Webster and American Civil Liberties Union President

Nadine Strossen Nadine Strossen (born August 18, 1950) is an American civil liberties activist who was president of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) from February 1991 to October 2008. A liberal feminist, she was the first woman to ever lead the ACLU. A ...

. During the debate, Webster made the following statement, which has since gained some popularity: "Security is always seen as too much until the day it is not enough." He also stated: "Order protects liberty and liberty protects order."

References

External links

*
Chairman, Homeland Security Advisory Council

'Speakers Debate How to Mix Freedom, Safety', The Daily Nexus; UC, Santa Barbara; Published March 4, 2002
*
Institute of World Politics
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Webster, William Hedgcock 1924 births 20th-century American judges American Christian Scientists Amherst College alumni Atlantic Council Directors of the Central Intelligence Agency Directors of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit Judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri Lawyers from St. Louis Lawyers from Washington, D.C. Living people Members of the American Law Institute Military personnel from St. Louis People associated with Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy People from Webster Groves, Missouri Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients Reagan administration cabinet members Recipients of the Distinguished Intelligence Medal United States Attorneys for the Eastern District of Missouri United States Department of Homeland Security officials United States Navy officers United States court of appeals judges appointed by Richard Nixon United States district court judges appointed by Richard Nixon Washington University School of Law alumni Washington, D.C., Republicans United States Navy personnel of World War II Psi Upsilon