{{Short description|Highest-ranking official of the NSA of the U.S. DoD}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2018}} {{Infobox official post | post = Director | body = the National Security Agency | insignia = National Security Agency.svg | insigniacaption = Seal of the National Security Agency | image = GEN Joshua M. Rudd.jpg | incumbent = General Joshua M. Rudd | incumbentsince = 16 March 2026 | Acting = | department = National Security Agency | status = Chief Executive | reports_to = {{plainlist| * Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence * Director of National Intelligence * Secretary of Defense }} | seat = Fort Meade, Maryland | nominator = Secretary of Defense | appointer = The president | appointer_qualified = with Senate advice and consent | constituting_instrument = {{UnitedStatesCode|10|201}} | precursor = Director of the Armed Forces Security Agency | formation = 1952 | first = MG Ralph Canine, USA | deputy = Deputy Director | website = {{url|http://www.nsa.gov/about/leadership/index.shtml|www.nsa.gov}} }}
The '''director of the National Security Agency''' ('''DIRNSA''') is the highest-ranking official of the National Security Agency, which is a defense agency within the U.S. Department of Defense. The director of the NSA also concurrently serves as the chief of the Central Security Service (CSS) and as the commander of U.S. Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM). As the director of the NSA and the chief of the CSS, the officeholder reports to the under secretary of defense for intelligence, and as the commander of U.S. Cyber Command, the officeholder reports directly to the secretary of defense.
According to {{UnitedStatesCode|10|201}} of the United States Code, the director of the NSA is recommended by the secretary of defense and nominated for appointment by the president. The nominee must be confirmed via majority vote by the Senate. In accordance with Department of Defense Directive 5100.20, dated 23 December 1971, the director of the NSA must always be a commissioned officer of the military services. As the assignment is currently part of a tri-hatted position, the director of the NSA is appointed to the grade of a four-star general or admiral during the period of his incumbency. The director's deputy is always a technically experienced civilian.<ref name="NSA Website">{{cite web |url=http://www.nsa.gov/about/about00018.cfm|title=About NSA|publisher=National Security Agency |access-date=21 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080802093150/http://www.nsa.gov/about/about00018.cfm |archive-date=2 August 2008}}</ref>
==AFSA directors== The Armed Forces Security Agency was the predecessor to the National Security Agency and existed from 1949 to 1952. {|class="wikitable" border="1" style="text-align:center" |- ! rowspan="2" | {{abbr|No.|Number}} ! colspan="2" | Director ! colspan="3" | Term ! rowspan="2" | Service branch ! rowspan="2" | President |- ! Portrait ! Name ! Took office ! Left office ! Term length |- | '''1''' | 75px | Rear Admiral<br />Earl E. Stone | 1949 | 1951 | 2 years | 75x75px|U.S. Navy<br/>U.S. Navy | rowspan="2" | Harry S. Truman |- | '''2''' | 75px | Major General<br/>Ralph Canine | 1951 | 1952 | 1 year | 75x75px|U.S. Army<br/>U.S. Army |}
==NSA directors== {|class="wikitable" border="1" style="text-align:center" |- ! rowspan="2" | {{abbr|No.|Number}} ! colspan="2" | Director ! colspan="3" | Term ! rowspan="2" | Service branch ! rowspan="2" | President |- ! Portrait ! Name ! Took office ! Left office ! Term length |- | '''1''' | 75px | Lieutenant General<br />Ralph Canine | 1952 | 1956 | 4 years | 75x75px|U.S. Army<br/>U.S. Army | Harry S. Truman<br />Dwight D. Eisenhower |- | '''2''' | 108x108px | Lieutenant General<br />John Samford | 1956 | 1960 | 4 years | 75x75px|U.S. Air Force<br/>U.S. Air Force | Dwight D. Eisenhower |- | '''3''' | 75px | Vice Admiral<br />Laurence Frost | 1960 | 1962 | 3 years | 75x75px|U.S. Navy<br/>U.S. Navy | Dwight D. Eisenhower<br />John F. Kennedy |- | '''4''' | 75px | Lieutenant General<br />Gordon Blake | 1962 | 1965 | 3 years | 75x75px|U.S. Air Force<br/>U.S. Air Force | John F. Kennedy<br />Lyndon B. Johnson |- | '''5''' | 75px | Lieutenant General<br />Marshall Carter | 1965 | 1969 | 4 years | 75x75px|U.S. Army<br/>U.S. Army | Lyndon B. Johnson<br />Richard Nixon |- | '''6''' | 75px | Vice Admiral<br />Noel Gayler | 1969 | 1972 | 3 years | 75x75px|U.S. Navy<br/>U.S. Navy | rowspan="2" | Richard Nixon |- | '''7''' | 75px | Lieutenant General<br />Samuel C. Phillips | 1972 | 1973 | 1 year | 75x75px|U.S. Air Force<br/>U.S. Air Force |- | '''8''' | 75px | Lieutenant General<br />Lew Allen | 1973 | 1977 | 4 years | 75x75px|U.S. Air Force<br/>U.S. Air Force | Richard Nixon<br />Gerald Ford<br />Jimmy Carter |- | '''9''' | 75px | Vice Admiral<br />Bobby Ray Inman | 1977 | 1981 | 4 years | 75x75px|U.S. Navy<br/>U.S. Navy | Jimmy Carter<br />Ronald Reagan |- | '''10''' | 75px | Lieutenant General<br />Lincoln Faurer | 1981 | 1985 | 4 years | 75x75px|U.S. Air Force<br/>U.S. Air Force | rowspan="2" | Ronald Reagan |- | '''11''' | 75px | Lieutenant General<br />William Odom | 1985 | 1988 | 3 years | 75x75px|U.S. Army<br/>U.S. Army |- | '''12''' | 75px | Vice Admiral<br />William Studeman | 1988 | 1992 | 4 years | 75x75px|U.S. Navy<br/>U.S. Navy | Ronald Reagan<br />George H. W. Bush |- | '''13''' | 75px | Vice Admiral<br />John M. McConnell | 1992 | 1996 | 4 years | 75x75px|U.S. Navy<br/>U.S. Navy | George H. W. Bush<br />Bill Clinton |- | '''14''' | 75px | Lieutenant General<br />Kenneth A. Minihan | 1996 | 1999 | 3 years | 75x75px|U.S. Air Force<br/>U.S. Air Force | Bill Clinton |- | '''15''' | 75px | Lieutenant General<br />Michael Hayden | 21 March 1999 | 21 April 2005 | {{ayd|1999|03|21|2005|04|21}} | 75x75px|U.S. Air Force<br/>U.S. Air Force | Bill Clinton<br />George W. Bush |- | '''16''' | 93x93px | General<br />Keith B. Alexander<ref>Alexander was originally a lieutenant general when he first assumed office on 1 August 2006. He was promoted to general when he assumed the additional assignment as Commander, U.S. Cyber Command on 21 May 2010.</ref> | 1 August 2005 | 28 March 2014 | {{ayd|2005|08|01|2014|03|28}} | 75x75px|U.S. Army<br/>U.S. Army | George W. Bush<br />Barack Obama |- | '''17''' | 75px | Admiral<br />Michael S. Rogers | 2 April 2014 | 4 May 2018 | {{ayd|2014|04|02|2018|05|04}} | 75x75px|U.S. Navy<br/>U.S. Navy | Barack Obama<br />Donald Trump |- | '''18''' | 75px | General<br />Paul M. Nakasone | 4 May 2018 | 2 February 2024 | {{ayd|2018|05|04|2024|02|02}} | 75x75px|U.S. Army<br/>U.S. Army | Donald Trump<br />Joe Biden |- |'''19''' | 75px | General<br />Timothy D. Haugh | 2 February 2024 | 3 April 2025<ref name="WaPoFiring">{{Cite web |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/04/03/nsa-director-fired-tim-haugh/ |title=National Security Agency and Cyber Command chief Gen. Timothy Haugh ousted |date=3 April 2025 |last1=Nakashima |first1=Ellen |last2=Strobel |first2=Warren |work=The Washington Post |access-date=3 April 2025}}</ref> | {{ayd|2024|02|02|2025|04|03}} | 75x75px|U.S. Air Force<br/>U.S. Air Force | Joe Biden<br /> Donald Trump |- |- style=background:#e6e6aa; |– | 75px | Lieutenant General<br />William J. Hartman | 3 April 2025<ref name="WaPoFiring"/> | 15 March 2026 | {{ayd|2025|04|03|2026|03|15}} | 75x75px|U.S. Army<br/>U.S. Army | Donald Trump |- |'''20''' | 75px | General<br />Joshua M. Rudd | 16 March 2026 | ''Incumbent'' | {{ayd|2026|03|15}} | 75x75px|U.S. Army<br/>U.S. Army | Donald Trump |}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * [https://www.nsa.gov/about/leadership/former-directors/ List of former NSA directors]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Director Of The National Security Agency}} Category:Directors of the National Security Agency