American historian
John Henry Waller (May 8, 1923 – November 4, 2004) was an American historian and author, as well as the Inspector General of the Central Intelligence Agency from 1976 to 1980.[1][2][3]
Early life
Waller was born in Paw Paw, Michigan to George and Marguerite (née Rowland) Waller on May 8, 1923.[3] Raised in Detroit, he earned a B.A. from the University of Michigan in 1946, and married Barbara Steuart Hans the following year.[1][3] The couple had three children.[3]
Career
In 1943 after he was rejected for military service due to an ear disorder, Waller began serving in the Office of Strategic Services, working in counterespionage.[1][2] From 1947 to 1953, Waller served as vice-consul with the United States Foreign Service in Iran.[3] He was a special assistant to the ambassador in New Delhi, India from 1955 to 1957 and from 1968 to 1971.[3] Waller served in Khartoum, Sudan from 1960 to 1960, then as an analyst in the United States Department of State from 1962 to 1968.[3] Waller was Chief of the CIA's Near East Division from 1971 to 1975, then Inspector General of the Agency from 1976 to 1980.[1][3] During his career he was awarded the Distinguished Intelligence Medal and the National Civil Service Award.[1]
During his tenure as Inspector General, Waller led the CIA's internal investigation of the arms for Libya case involving CIA agents Edwin P. Wilson and Frank E. Terpil.[4] His report exonerated senior intelligence officials Theodore Shackley, deputy to the director of clandestine operations, and Thomas Clines, director of training in the clandestine services.[4]
Later life
Waller lived in McLean, Virginia from 1978.[1] He retired as Inspector General of the CIA in 1980.[1] During Lawrence Walsh's investigation of the Iran–Contra affair, Waller and four other former CIA officials served as trustees of a defense fund set-up to help pay the legal expenses of at least six individuals who were serving or had served with the CIA during the scandal.[5]
In retirement, he was reported to have been a full-time writer.[1] Among the books authored by Waller were Gordon of Khartoum: The Saga of a Victorian Hero (1988), Beyond the Khyber Pass: The Road to British Disaster in the First Afghan War (1990), The Unseen War in Europe: Espionage and Conspiracy in the Second World War (1996), and The Devil's Doctor: Felix Kersten and the Secret Plot to Turn Himmler Against Hitler (2002).[2] He wrote Tibet: A Chronicle of Exploration under the pseudonym John MacGregor[6] as well as A History of Sino-Indian Relations: Hostile Co-Existence under the pseudonym John Rowland.[citation needed]
On November 4, 2004, Waller died due to complications from pneumonia at the Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, Virginia.[1] He was survived by his wife and three children.[1]
