George V. Lauder (CIA)

George Varick Lauder (March 2, 1924 – July 25, 2012) was an American spy. A thirty-six year veteran of the Central Intelligence Agency, he best known (publicly) as their Director of Public Affairs in the 1980's as the CIA began to recraft their public image after finding it difficult to shed the reputation it gained in the mid-1970's as a rogue agency accused of shocking abuses of power.[1] Previous to masterminding the public perception of the agency, Lauder was the Deputy Inspector General, the acting Chief of Latin American Division, and held a number of classified posts before then.[2]

George V. Lauder
Director of Public Affairs, CIA
In office
November 8, 1983 – 1987
PresidentRonald Reagan
Deputy Inspector General, CIA
In office
1978 – November 7, 1983
PresidentJimmy Carter
Ronald Reagan
Personal details
Born(1924-03-02)March 2, 1924
New York City, NY
DiedJuly 25, 2012(2012-07-25) (aged 88)
Washington, D.C.
NationalityAmerican
RelationsLauder Greenway Family
Alma materYale
University of Virginia
Awards Distinguished Intelligence Medal
Intelligence Medal of Merit

Early life

George Lauder was born in New York City to his parents Katherine Varick Lauder and Edwin Storrs Dewing. His parents divorced when he was very young and his mother gave her children her surname. Katherine Lauder was a member of the Lauder Greenway Family[3] whose wealth allowed him to attend Andover, Yale for his undergraduate degree, and earn a law degree from the University of Virginia.

Lauders college education was interrupted by the advent of World War II, when he joined the U.S. Navy as a lieutenant and was a navigator for seaplanes and aircraft carriers in the South Pacific. He would ultimately graduate from the class of 1945 in 1947 from Yale.[4]

CIA

After graduating law school, Lauder joined the CIA in 1951. From 1951 until 1978 he was a covert operations officer posted in several countries. All these assignments and postings are still classified by the CIA. Due to a single unredacted internal document dated June 29th, 1977 (that was released as part of a FOIA request), Lauder is revealed to have been the Acting Chief, Latin American Division at that time.[5] Given the date, Lauder was in charge of all CIA activities in Latin America during a portion of Operation Condor.

Report on Cuban Complicity in the Assassination of JFK

At the direction of E. Henry Knoche, Lauder, while with the Latin American Division, lead a team in a comprehensive investigation into Cuban complicity into the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. From mid-October 1976 to June 1977, Lauder compiled a report that drew an extensive road map between a disgruntled La Cosa Nostra lead by Santo Trafficante trying to have Fidel Castro, Raul Castro, and Che Guevara assassinated instead. In one of the final nails in the coffin of JFK conspiracy theories, the report found no clear links between the Cuban government and the killing.

Soon after this report was filed by Lauder, he left covert operations on an unconfirmed date to become the Deputy Inspector General for the CIA.

Director of Public Affairs

In 1981, there was a significant expansion of the CIA. Overseas operations had expanded, including covert actions intended to influence events in other countries, and President Reagan had given the agency authority to conduct operations within the United States.[6] By 1983, the ramifications of this expansion were being felt and late that year, William J. Casey, the Director of Central Intelligence, named Lauder the Director of Public Affairs.

Over the course of his tenure, Lauder was the agencies public face to the United States amidst the end of the Cold War, the Nicaraguan Contras affair, Iran Contra, the 1985 Beirut car bombings, and other other seminal events in the history of the CIA.[7] Lauder was also constantly sparring with journalists such as David Ignatius, Bob Woodward,[8] and Jack Nelson.

Lauders departure from the CIA in May 1987 coincided with the death of Casey and the start of congressional hearings on the Iran Contra scandal.

Awards & Citations

Over the course of his career, Lauder received the CIA's Distinguished Intelligence Medal and Medal of Merit.[9]

Family

Lauder married Laurita Blatz on April 25th, 1952. They had four children together including daughters Frederica Lauder and Leigh Lauder and a son, George V. Lauder of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard.[10]

Additional Reading

References
  1. Smith, Christian (1996). Resisting Reagan: The U.S. Central America Peace Movement. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 411. ISBN 9780226763354. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  2. "George V. Lauder, a CIA veteran of 32 years,..." UPI. November 8, 1983. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  3. Trumball, Walter (August 9, 1928). "Romance Spurred Tunney". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  4. "George V. Lauder Obituary". Washington Post. August 7, 2012. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  5. "Latin America Division Task Force Report of Possible Cuban Complicity in the John F. Kennedy Assassination" (PDF). www.theblackvault.com. CIA. June 29, 1977. Retrieved 7 September 2020. George V. Lauder Acting Chief, Latin America Division
  6. Miller, Judith (December 1, 1981). "REAGAN BROADENS POWER OF C.I.A., ALLOWING SPYING ACTIVITIES IN U.S." New York Times. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  7. Woodward, Bob (1987). Secret Wars of the C.I.A. (PDF). New York City: Simon and Schuster. p. 405. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  8. George Lauder (February 20, 1986). "Letter from Lauder to Woodward" (PDF). www.cia.gov. CIA. Retrieved 9 September 2020. We resent both the violations of the ground rules under which we agreed to talk to you and the implication that your product has our approval. It doesn't.
  9. "AFIO Weekly Intelligence Notes #31-12". www.afio.org. AFIO. August 14, 2012. Retrieved 8 September 2020. He received the CIA's Distinguished Intelligence Medal, Medal of Merit, and other awards of distinction.
  10. "George V. Lauder Obituary". Washington Post. August 7, 2012. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
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