View source for Director of the National Security Agency

{{Short description|Highest-ranking official of the National Security Agency, United States Department of Defense}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2018}}
{{Infobox official post
| post = Director
| body = the National Security Agency
| flag = Flag of the U.S. National Security Agency.svg
| flagsize = 150
| flagcaption = Flag of the National Security Agency
| image = Gen Timothy D. Haugh.jpg
| incumbent = General [[Timothy D. Haugh]], USAF
| incumbentsince = February 2, 2024
| department = [[National Security Agency]]
| status = [[Chief Executive]]
| reports_to = {{plainlist|
* [[Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence]]
* [[Director of National Intelligence]] 
* [[United States Secretary of Defense|Secretary of Defense]]
}}
| seat = [[Fort Meade]], [[Maryland]]
| nominator = [[United States Secretary of Defense|Secretary of Defense]]
| appointer = [[President of the United States|President]]
| appointer_qualified = with [[United States Senate|Senate]] [[advice and consent]]
| constituting_instrument = {{UnitedStatesCode|10|201}}
| precursor = Director of the Armed Forces Security Agency
| formation = 1952
| first = MG [[Ralph Canine]], USA
| deputy = [[Deputy Director of the National Security Agency|Deputy Director]]
| website = {{url|http://www.nsa.gov/about/leadership/index.shtml|www.nsa.gov}}
}}

The '''Director of the National Security Agency''' ('''DIRNSA''') is the highest-ranking official of the [[National Security Agency]], which is a defense agency within the [[United States Department of Defense|U.S. Department of Defense]]. The director of the NSA also concurrently serves as the chief of the [[Central Security Service]] (CHCSS) and as the commander of [[United States Cyber Command|U.S. Cyber Command]] (USCYBERCOM). As the director of the NSA and the chief of the CSC, the officeholder reports to the [[Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence|under secretary of defense for intelligence]], and as the commander of U.S. Cyber Command, the officeholder reports directly to the [[United States Secretary of Defense|secretary of defense]].

According to {{UnitedStatesCode|10|201}} of the [[United States Code]], the director of the NSA is recommended by the secretary of defense and nominated for appointment by the [[President of the United States|president]]. The nominee must be confirmed via majority vote by the [[United States Senate|Senate]]. In accordance with Department of Defense Directive 5100.20, dated 23 December 1971, the director of the NSA must always be a commissioned officer of the military services. As the assignment is currently part of a tri-hatted position, the director of the NSA is appointed to the grade of a four-star [[General (United States)|general]] or [[Admiral (United States)|admiral]] during the period of his incumbency. The director's [[Deputy Director of the National Security Agency|deputy]] is always a technically experienced civilian.<ref name="NSA Website">{{cite web |url=http://www.nsa.gov/about/about00018.cfm|title=About NSA|publisher=[[National Security Agency]] |access-date=21 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080802093150/http://www.nsa.gov/about/about00018.cfm |archive-date=2 August 2008}}</ref>

==AFSA directors==
The [[Armed Forces Security Agency]] was the predecessor to the National Security Agency and existed from 1949 to 1952.
{|class="wikitable" border="1" style="text-align:center"
|-
! rowspan="2" | {{abbr|No.|Number}}
!Director
! colspan="3" | Term 
! rowspan="2" | Service branch
! rowspan="2" | President
|-
! Name
! Took office
! Left office
! Term length
|-
| '''1'''
| [[Rear admiral (United States)#Rear admiral|Rear Admiral]]<br />[[Earl E. Stone]]
| 1949
| 1951
| 2 years
| [[File:Emblem_of_the_United_States_Navy.svg|75x75px|U.S. Navy]]<br/>[[United States Navy|U.S. Navy]]
| rowspan="2" | Harry S. Truman 
|-
| '''2''' 
| [[Major general (United States)|Major General]]<br/>[[Ralph Canine]]
| 1951
| 1952
| 1 year
| [[File:Military_service_mark_of_the_United_States_Army.svg|75x75px|U.S. Army]]<br/>[[United States Army|U.S. Army]]
|}

==NSA directors==
{|class="wikitable" border="1" style="text-align:center"
|-
! rowspan="2" | {{abbr|No.|Number}}
!Director
! colspan="3" | Term 
! rowspan="2" | Service branch
! rowspan="2" | President
|-
! Name
! Took office
! Left office
! Term length
|-
| '''1'''
| [[Lieutenant general (United States)|Lieutenant General]]<br />[[Ralph Canine]]
| 1952
| 1956
| 4 years
| [[File:Military_service_mark_of_the_United_States_Army.svg|75x75px|U.S. Army]]<br/>[[United States Army|U.S. Army]]
| Harry S. Truman<br />Dwight D. Eisenhower
|-
| '''2'''
| Lieutenant General<br />[[John Samford]]
| 1956
| 1960
| 4 years
| [[File:U.S. Air Force service mark.svg|75x75px|U.S. Air Force]]<br/>[[United States Air Force|U.S. Air Force]]
| Dwight D. Eisenhower
|-
| '''3'''
| [[Vice admiral (United States)|Vice Admiral]]<br />[[Laurence Frost]]
| 1960
| 1962
| 3 years
| [[File:Emblem_of_the_United_States_Navy.svg|75x75px|U.S. Navy]]<br/>[[United States Navy|U.S. Navy]]
| Dwight D. Eisenhower<br />[[John F. Kennedy]]
|-
| '''4'''
| Lieutenant General<br />[[Gordon Blake]]
| 1962
| 1965
| 3 years
| [[File:U.S. Air Force service mark.svg|75x75px|U.S. Air Force]]<br/>[[United States Air Force|U.S. Air Force]]
| [[John F. Kennedy]]<br />[[Lyndon B. Johnson]]
|-
| '''5'''
| Lieutenant General<br />[[Marshall Carter]]
| 1965
| 1969
| 4 years
| [[File:Military_service_mark_of_the_United_States_Army.svg|75x75px|U.S. Army]]<br/>[[United States Army|U.S. Army]]
| [[Lyndon B. Johnson]]<br />[[Richard Nixon]]
|-
| '''6'''
| Vice Admiral<br />[[Noel Gayler]]
| 1969
| 1972
| 3 years
| [[File:Emblem_of_the_United_States_Navy.svg|75x75px|U.S. Navy]]<br/>[[United States Navy|U.S. Navy]]
| rowspan="2" | [[Richard Nixon]]
|-
| '''7'''
| Lieutenant General<br />[[Samuel C. Phillips]]
| 1972
| 1973
| 1 year
| [[File:U.S. Air Force service mark.svg|75x75px|U.S. Air Force]]<br/>[[United States Air Force|U.S. Air Force]]
|-
| '''8'''
| Lieutenant General<br />[[Lew Allen]]
| 1973
| 1977
| 4 years
| [[File:U.S. Air Force service mark.svg|75x75px|U.S. Air Force]]<br/>[[United States Air Force|U.S. Air Force]]
| [[Richard Nixon]]<br />[[Gerald Ford]]<br />[[Jimmy Carter]]
|-
| '''9'''
| Vice Admiral<br />[[Bobby Ray Inman]]
| 1977
| 1981
| 4 years
| [[File:Emblem_of_the_United_States_Navy.svg|75x75px|U.S. Navy]]<br/>[[United States Navy|U.S. Navy]]
| [[Jimmy Carter]]<br />[[Ronald Reagan]]
|-
| '''10'''
| Lieutenant General<br />[[Lincoln Faurer]]
| 1981
| 1985
| 4 years
| [[File:U.S. Air Force service mark.svg|75x75px|U.S. Air Force]]<br/>[[United States Air Force|U.S. Air Force]]
| rowspan="2" | [[Ronald Reagan]]
|-
| '''11'''
| Lieutenant General<br />[[William Odom]]
| 1985
| 1988
| 3 years
| [[File:Military_service_mark_of_the_United_States_Army.svg|75x75px|U.S. Army]]<br/>[[United States Army|U.S. Army]]
|-
| '''12'''
| Vice Admiral<br />[[William Studeman]]
| 1988
| 1992
| 4 years
| [[File:Emblem_of_the_United_States_Navy.svg|75x75px|U.S. Navy]]<br/>[[United States Navy|U.S. Navy]]
| [[Ronald Reagan]]<br />[[George H. W. Bush]]
|-
| '''13'''
| Vice Admiral<br />[[John M. McConnell]]
| 1992
| 1996
| 4 years
| [[File:Emblem_of_the_United_States_Navy.svg|75x75px|U.S. Navy]]<br/>[[United States Navy|U.S. Navy]]
| [[George H. W. Bush]]<br />[[Bill Clinton]]
|-
| '''14'''
| Lieutenant General<br />[[Kenneth A. Minihan]]
| 1996
| 1999
| 3 years
| [[File:U.S. Air Force service mark.svg|75x75px|U.S. Air Force]]<br/>[[United States Air Force|U.S. Air Force]]
| [[Bill Clinton]]
|-
| '''15'''
| Lieutenant General<br />[[Michael Hayden (general)|Michael Hayden]]
| 21 March 1999
| 21 April 2005
| {{ayd|1999|03|21|2005|04|21}}
| [[File:U.S. Air Force service mark.svg|75x75px|U.S. Air Force]]<br/>[[United States Air Force|U.S. Air Force]]
| [[Bill Clinton]]<br />George W. Bush
|-
| '''16'''
| [[General (United States)|General]]<br />[[Keith B. Alexander]]<ref>Alexander was originally a lieutenant general when he first assumed office on 1 August 2005. He was promoted to general when he assumed the additional assignment as Commander, U.S. Cyber Command on 21 May 2010.</ref>
| 1 August 2005
| 28 March 2014
| {{ayd|2005|08|01|2014|03|28}}
| [[File:Military_service_mark_of_the_United_States_Army.svg|75x75px|U.S. Army]]<br/>[[United States Army|U.S. Army]]
| George W. Bush<br />[[Barack Obama]]
|-
| '''17'''
| [[Admiral (United States)|Admiral]]<br />[[Michael S. Rogers]]
| 2 April 2014
| 4 May 2018
| {{ayd|2014|04|02|2018|05|04}}
| [[File:Emblem_of_the_United_States_Navy.svg|75x75px|U.S. Navy]]<br/>[[United States Navy|U.S. Navy]]
| [[Barack Obama]]<br />[[Donald Trump]]
|-
| '''18'''
| General<br />[[Paul M. Nakasone]]
| 4 May 2018
| 2 February 2024
| {{ayd|2018|05|04|2024|02|02}}
| [[File:Military_service_mark_of_the_United_States_Army.svg|75x75px|U.S. Army]]<br/>[[United States Army|U.S. Army]]
| [[Donald Trump]]<br />[[Joe Biden]]
|-
|'''19'''
| General<br />[[Timothy D. Haugh]]
| 2 February 2024
| Present
| {{ayd|2024|02|02}}
| [[File:U.S. Air Force service mark.svg|75x75px|U.S. Air Force]]<br/>[[United States Air Force|U.S. Air Force]]
| [[Joe Biden]]
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://www.nsa.gov/about/leadership/former-directors/ List of former NSA directors]

{{DIRNSA}}
{{DOD agencies navbox}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Director Of The National Security Agency}}
[[Category:Directors of the National Security Agency| ]]