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Sidney William Souers (March 30, 1892 – January 14, 1973) was an American military intelligence officer who was the first person to hold the office of
Director of Central Intelligence The director of central intelligence (DCI) was the head of the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from 1946 to 2004, acting as the principal intelligence advisor to the president of the United States and the United States National Se ...
, being head of the Central Intelligence Group (CIG), the direct predecessor to the
Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
(CIA), and of the National Intelligence Authority (NIA), the direct predecessor to the
National Security Council A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a n ...
(NSC). From 1947 to 1949, Souers also served as Executive Secretary of the U.S. National Security Council, and was a close and trusted advisor of 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. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...
.


Early life and education

Sidney Souers was born in
Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...
. He attended
Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...
and eventually
Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public university, public research university in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the second-oldest List of colleges and universities in Ohio, university in Ohi ...
, graduating from the latter in 1914 with a
Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...
. During his time at Miami, Souers was a member of the Kappa chapter of
Delta Kappa Epsilon Delta Kappa Epsilon (), commonly known as ''DKE'' or ''Deke'', is one of the oldest Fraternities and sororities, fraternities in the United States, with fifty-six active chapters and five active Colony (fraternity or sorority), colonies across No ...
. After completing his education, Souers was initially attracted to a business career. He was a founder and first president of the First Joint Stock Land Bank of Dayton, and also served as a high ranking business executive in
New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
and later
St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...
for a number of notable companies, including Piggly Wiggly stores and Metropolitan Life Insurance. He was among the co-founders of
American Airlines American Airlines, Inc. is a major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, and is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the ...
.


Career


Navy career

Souers was called to active duty with the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
on July 22, 1940, after serving eleven years in the naval reserves as an
intelligence officer An intelligence officer is a member of the intelligence field employed by an organization to collect, compile or analyze information (known as intelligence) which is of use to that organization. The word of ''officer'' is a working title, not a r ...
. Initially commissioned as a lieutenant commander, Souers was promoted to full
commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...
in February 1942 when he was assigned to command the Sixth Naval District, headquartered at
Naval Station Great Lakes Naval Station Great Lakes (NAVSTA Great Lakes) is the home of the United States Navy's only current recruit training, boot camp, located near North Chicago, Illinois, North Chicago, in Lake County, Illinois, along Lake Michigan. Important tenan ...
in Chicago. In May 1943, after a German U-boat was sunk by the U.S. Coast Guard off the South Carolina coast, Souers, along with
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
commander Patrick W. Stone, was tasked with the interrogation of the submarine's crew. Souers was appointed assistant director of the
Office of Naval Intelligence The Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) is the military intelligence agency of the United States Navy. Established in 1882 primarily to advance the Navy's modernization efforts, it is the oldest member of the U.S. Intelligence Community and serv ...
on July 24, 1944. He was promoted to
rear admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...
and deputy chief of Naval Intelligence on November 8, 1945. He was eventually relieved of active duty on July 22, 1946, after exactly six years of naval service.


Director of Central Intelligence

Sidney Souers was appointed member of a joint committee of
State State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...
,
War War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...
and
Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...
department employees in December 1944, chaired by Ferdinand Eberstadt and tasked with creating what would become known as the Eberstadt Report. In the report, Souers argued for the creation of a new central intelligence organization after the war that was to be under civilian as opposed to military control. By late 1945, Souers' proposal had come to the attention of 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. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...
, who personally ordered Souers to send a memo to
Secretary of the Navy The Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department within the United States Department of Defense. On March 25, 2025, John Phelan was confirm ...
James Forrestal James Vincent Forrestal (February 15, 1892 – May 22, 1949) was the last Cabinet (government), cabinet-level United States Secretary of the Navy and the first United States Secretary of Defense. Forrestal came from a very strict middle-cla ...
on the president's approval of the proposition. On January 22, 1946, the National Intelligence Authority was officially established, with president Truman appointing Souers as director of its Central Intelligence Group (CIG). Souers agreed to serve as interim director until a permanent director could be appointed. Souers was initially tasked with giving daily intelligence briefings to president Truman on current developments in intelligence and national security. Despite being the inaugural holder of the office of Director of Central Intelligence, Souers was insistent on returning to his civilian business career, and was reluctantly relieved of his duties by president Truman on June 7, 1946 following the nomination of
Hoyt Vandenberg Hoyt Sanford Vandenberg (January 24, 1899 – April 2, 1954) was a United States Air Force general. He served as the second Chief of Staff of the Air Force, and the second Director of Central Intelligence. During World War II, Vandenberg was t ...
as CIG director.


Later career

Souers was soon called back to Washington when president Truman appointed him to serve as Executive Secretary of the
National Security Council A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a n ...
following its creation on July 26, 1947. In this capacity as a non-voting member, he met with the president daily as a personal informant on national security issues and planning. He was the first to brief Truman on the possible existence of a
thermonuclear weapon A thermonuclear weapon, fusion weapon or hydrogen bomb (H-bomb) is a second-generation nuclear weapon design. Its greater sophistication affords it vastly greater destructive power than first-generation nuclear bombs, a more compact size, a lowe ...
, and remained a key figure in its development, being a major proponent of the establishment of an intelligence division within the Atomic Energy Commission. In March 1949, following the retirement of Truman's Chief of Staff, Fleet Admiral
William D. Leahy William Daniel Leahy ( ; 6 May 1875 – 20 July 1959) was an American naval officer and was the most senior United States military officer on active duty during World War II; he held several titles and exercised considerable influence over for ...
, Souers was selected to fill Leahy's duties of advising the president on national defense. Souers resigned from his position as Executive Secretary on December 21, 1949, though remained Truman's chief consultant on national security until the end of his presidency in 1953. Souers was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal by president Truman on December 2, 1952, for "keen foresight and tireless efforts toward fulfillment of a strong and effective security program".


Death and legacy

Souers died at his home in
St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...
on January 15, 1973, aged 80. Following his death, Miami University created the Admiral Sidney Souers Distinguished Alumni Award in 1977 at the bequest of his widow, Sylvia Nettle.


References


External links


Biography at Truman Presidential Library


{{DEFAULTSORT:Souers, Sidney 1892 births 1973 deaths Directors of the Central Intelligence Agency Miami University alumni Military personnel from Dayton, Ohio United States Navy admirals