Vaughn F. Bishop

Since first joining the CIA in 1981, Vaughn F. Bishop has inspired a generation of Agency officers while holding a number of expert-level analyst and senior management positions across a diverse range of regional and functional mission areas. During his 30-year career, he demonstrated exceptional analytic and operational tradecraft and integrity.

Mr. Bishop also had several opportunities to lead during crisis. In the early 1990s, he led the Somalia Task Force. From 1996 to 1999, Mr. Bishop served as Chief of Station, managing a critical relationship with a key partner focused on counterterrorism operations. The Agency viewed Mr. Bishop during this period as a “tower of strength and stability.”

From 1999 to 2001, Mr. Bishop was the DCIA Representative to PACOM and he later led CIA’s analytic effort on Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Africa. From 2006 to 2009, Mr. Bishop oversaw a critical analytic partnership with a major foreign ally. After returning from that post, Mr. Bishop was asked to serve as the National Intelligence Officer for Africa and ultimately rose to become the Vice-Chair of the National Intelligence Council in 2010.

After a distinguished career, Mr. Bishop retired from CIA in 2011 with a reputation for professionalism and an uncanny ability to inspire those around him. He returned to CIA for four years to serve as the CIA Ombudsman for Analytic Objectivity during the Agency’s modernization effort.

Mr. Bishop earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from Northwestern University in 1968, a Master’s Degree in Political Science from Northwestern University in 1970, and a Doctorate in Political Science and African Studies from Northwestern University in 1974. Before joining CIA, he served as an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, from 1974 to 1981. Mr. Bishop is an avid golfer. He is married and has two children.