William Colby

Biography

William Egan Colby was an American intelligence officer born in Saint Paul, Minnesota in 1920. He served with the Office of Strategic Services during World War II and later joined the Central Intelligence Agency, where he became chief of station in Saigon and head of the Civil Operations and Rural Development effort. Colby served as Director of Central Intelligence from 1973 to 1976, introducing relative openness about U.S. intelligence activities during his tenure.