R. James Woolsey, a national security expert who led the CIA for two turbulent years after his appointment by President Bill Clinton, has died. He was 84. Woolsey, who became CIA director in early 1993, died Tuesday at his home in Washington, according to several newspapers. His wife, Conchita Sarnoff Woolsey, told the newspapers that he died from a stroke.
Background and Career
Woolsey was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Sept. 21, 1941. The graduate of Stanford University was a Rhodes Scholar who got his law degree from Yale University. He began government work in 1970 as a staff member on the National Security Council, then moved to Capitol Hill to become general counsel to the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Before leading the CIA, he served as undersecretary of the Navy in the Carter administration and as an adviser on arms control issues to both Republican and Democratic presidents. When he became director of the CIA, he was known for getting things done. He was appointed by President George H.W. Bush in 1989 as a special negotiator for the languishing talks between the NATO alliance and the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact on reducing weapons and troops in Europe.
Original reporting: WLKY Louisville — read the source article.
