William Casey

"William J. Casey served as director of central intelligence from January 1981 until he resigned on January 29, 1987, incapacitated by a brain tumor. Casey had been director of President Reagan's successful 1980 campaign, but his appointment as CIA director was not seen as a political reward. During World War II, Casey had a distinguished record in the Office of Strategic Services, the forerunner of the CIA, serving as intelligence chief for Europe. He also was an experienced Washington hand, having served as head of the Securities and Exchange Commission and as under secretary of state for economic affairs in the Nixon Administration. As CIA director, Casey and President Reagan shared similar world views, at the center of which was their determination to roll back communism and bring about the collapse of the Soviet Union."