{{Short description|High ranking CIA officer}} {{Infobox officeholder | birth_date = August 1, 1926 | birth_place = Erie, Pennsylvania | death_date = November 4, 2015 | death_place = Vienna, Virginia | spouse = Catherine Murphy Briggs | alma_mater = Wesleyan University<br>University of Michigan | office = Executive Director of the Central Intelligence Agency | office2 = Deputy Director of Central Intelligence | order2 = Acting | office1 = Director of Central Intelligence | order1 = Acting | office3 = Legislative Liaison of the Central Intelligence Agency | term_start3 = 1984 | term_end3 = 1986 | image = File:Chuck Briggs.jpg }} '''Charles "Chuck" Ackerly Briggs''' (born August 1, 1926, in Erie, Pennsylvania) was an officer in the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) for over 34 years.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Charles Briggs Obituary (1926 - 2015) - Vienna, VA - Erie Times-News |url=https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/erietimesnews/name/charles-briggs-obituary?id=17388760 |access-date=2025-02-27 |website=Legacy.com}}</ref>
== Life == After serving as a Corporal in the U.S. Army during World War II, he pursued higher education at Wesleyan University, where he was an active member of Alpha Delta Phi.<ref name=":0" /> In 1951, he earned a Masters's degree in english literature from the University of Michigan.{{citation needed|date= February 2025}}
Briggs joined the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in September 1952 as a Junior Officer Trainee and advanced through various administrative roles, including Inspector General, Comptroller, Director of the Services Staff, Legislative Liaison,<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Snider |first=L. Britt |url=https://archive.org/details/agencyhillciasre0000snid/mode/2up?q=Chapter+4 |title=The Agency and the Hill : CIA's relationship with Congress, 1946-2004 |date=2008 |publisher=Washington, DC : Center for the Study of Intelligence, Central Intelligence Agency |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-1-929667-17-8}}</ref> and ultimately Executive Director. Notably, in June 1983, while serving as Executive Director, he was briefly designated as both Acting Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) and Acting Deputy Director of Central Intelligence (DDCI), holding all three positions simultaneously.<ref name=":0" />
During his tenure, Briggs was involved in the case of former CIA operative Edwin Wilson, who was convicted in 1983 of selling explosives to Libya. Briggs provided an affidavit stating that the CIA had not engaged Wilson for any services, directly or indirectly.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Charles Briggs, retired CIA officer who assisted JFK museum, was accused of deception by a federal judge – JFK Facts |url=https://jfkfacts.org/charles-briggs-retired-cia-officer-who-assisted-jfk-museum-was-accused-of-deception-by-a-federal-judge/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241009062925/https://jfkfacts.org/charles-briggs-retired-cia-officer-who-assisted-jfk-museum-was-accused-of-deception-by-a-federal-judge/ |archive-date=2024-10-09 |access-date=2025-02-27 |website=jfkfacts.org |language=en-US}}</ref> However, upon appeal, evidence surfaced indicating that Wilson had maintained ties with the agency on at least 40 occasions post-retirement. In 2003, federal Judge Lynn Hughes overturned Wilson's conviction, citing the affidavit as "dishonest."<ref name=":2" />
After retiring from the CIA, Briggs contributed to the development of the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas, which commemorates President John F. Kennedy's assassination.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Charles A. Briggs Oral History {{!}} The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza |url=https://www.jfk.org/collections-archive/charles-a-briggs-oral-history/ |access-date=2025-02-27 |website=www.jfk.org |language=en-US}}</ref> He worked part-time for about a year in the late 1980s as a researcher and writer in the Washington, D.C. in the offices of museum exhibition designers Bob Staples and Barbara Charles.<ref name=":3" />
== References == <references />
{{DEFAULTSORT:Briggs, Charles Ackerly}} Category:Central Intelligence Agency Category:1926 births Category:2015 deaths Category:People from Erie, Pennsylvania Category:Wesleyan University alumni Category:University of Michigan alumni
{{US-gov-bio-stub}}