George Tenet Fast Facts
CNN Editorial Research
Here is a look at the life of George Tenet, former director of the CIA.
Personal
Birth date: January 5, 1953
Birth place: Flushing, NY
Birth name: George John Tenet
Father: John Tenet, restaurant owner
Mother: Evangelia Tenet
Marriage: A. Stephanie Glakas-Tenet
Children: John Michael
Education: Georgetown University, B.S.F.S., 1976; Columbia University, M.I.A., 1978
Other Facts
His parents immigrated to the United States from Greece.
Has a twin brother, William.
Timeline
1978-1979 – Works as research director of the American Hellenic Institute.
1979-1982 – Works at the Solar Energy Industries Association.
1982-1985 – Serves as Legislative Assistant, then Legislative Director, for the office of Sen. John Heinz.
1985 – Becomes a staff member on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.
1989-1993 – Serves as staff director for the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.
1993 – Joins President Bill Clinton’s national security transition team.
1993-1995 – Serves as senior director for intelligence programs for the National Security Council.
July 1995 – Appointed Deputy Director of the CIA by President Bill Clinton.
December 16, 1996 – Tenet becomes acting director of the CIA.
July 11, 1997 – Sworn in as Director of the CIA.
April 14, 2004 – Tenet testifies before the 9/11 commission acknowledging mistakes were made and saying that the CIA’s failure to stop the September 11, 2001 terror attacks “haunts all of us to this day.”
June 3, 2004 – President George W. Bush announces that Tenet has resigned as CIA Director. His last official day will be July 11, 2004.
December 14, 2004 – Is awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
2004-2007 – Professor at Georgetown University.
April 30, 2007 – His book, “At the Center of the Storm: My Years at the CIA,” is published. In an interview on CBS’ “60 Minutes” about the book he denies the use of torture by the United States in post 9/11 interrogations of al Qaeda operatives. Tenet also claims that repeated CIA warnings that a terrorist attack was imminent before 9/11 were ignored, and that senior officials used his “slam dunk” reference about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq to bolster Bush’s decision to launch the war.
2007-present – Managing director at investment bank Allen & Company in New York City.
December 9, 2014 – Along with other CIA officials, Tenet publishes an op-ed piece in The Wall Street Journal responding to a report regarding the torturous detention and interrogation techniques used by the US government when questioning suspected terrorists following 9/11.
August 16, 2018 – Former senior intelligence officials, including Tenet, release a statement denouncing President Donald Trump’s decision to revoke John Brennan’s security clearance. In the letter, the senior officials refer to the decision as “ill-considered” and “unprecedented.”
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