John E. McLaughlin

Over a three-decade career with the CIA, John E. McLaughlin has worked on nearly every part of the world, frequently briefed the President and the Congress, represented the intelligence community in meetings of the National Security Council, and traveled widely to strengthen U.S. relations with national security counterparts in numerous countries. He continues to testify before congressional committees and participate in public policy debates, contributing insights on foreign affairs, intelligence operations, and crisis management.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, McLaughlin directed the CIA’s analytic work on Europe during the period marked by the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. Four months after the breakup of the Soviet Union, he was put in charge of the CIA’s analysis of the fifteen independent states that emerged from the USSR. During this time, he frequently represented the Intelligence Community on the US diplomatic missions that established initial relations with these newly-independent countries. He also held key management positions during significant events such as the downsizing of U.S. intelligence services in the 1990s and the response to the 9/11 attacks.

While Deputy Director for Intelligence from 1997 to 2000, McLaughlin created the Senior Analytic Service, a CIA career track that allows analysts to rise to very senior rank without branching out into management and founded the Sherman Kent School for Intelligence Analysis. Additionally, he served as Acting Director of Central Intelligence from July to September of 2004 and as the Deputy Director of Central Intelligence from 2000 to 2004. Apart from his roles at the CIA and his extensive public service career, McLaughlin is a Distinguished Practitioner in Residence at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies and the Merrill Center for Strategic Studies. He teaches a graduate level course on American Intelligence at Johns Hopkins/SAIS and is a National Security Analyst for MSNBC. McLaughlin is the author of "Creating Business Magic: How the Power of Magic Can Inspire, Innovate, and Revolutionize Your Business." His contributions to the field have earned him several prestigious awards including the Distinguished Intelligence Community Service Award, the National Security Medal, the Johns Hopkins Alumni Association’s Distinguished Alumnus Award, and in 2016, the William Oliver Baker Award from the Intelligence and National Security Alliance. He currently serves as Chairman of the CIA Officers Memorial Foundation and remains a vital voice in national security discussions.