George Tenet Biography

Quick Facts

NAME: George Tenet
OCCUPATION: Government Official
BIRTH DATE: January 05, 1953 (Age: 60)
EDUCATION: Georgetown University, Columbia University
PLACE OF BIRTH: New York City, New York
ZODIAC SIGN: Capricorn

Best Known For

CIA director George Tenet resigned in 2004 after U.S. forces in Iraq failed to find the weapons of mass destruction he had claimed existed there.

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George Tenet

APA Style

George Tenet. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 06:07, May 25, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/george-tenet-244622.

Harvard Style

George Tenet. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/george-tenet-244622 [Accessed 25 May 2013].

MLA Style

"George Tenet." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 25 2013, 06:07 http://www.biography.com/people/george-tenet-244622.

MHRA Style

"George Tenet," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/george-tenet-244622 [accessed May 25, 2013].

Chicago Style

"George Tenet," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/george-tenet-244622 (accessed May 25, 2013).

CBE/CSE Style

George Tenet [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 25] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/george-tenet-244622.

Bluebook Style

George Tenet, http://www.biography.com/people/george-tenet-244622 (last visited May 25, 2013).

AMA Style

George Tenet. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/george-tenet-244622. Accessed May 25, 2013.

Synopsis

Born in 1953 in New York City, former CIA director George Tenet had a difficult tenure from 1997 to 2004. The agency was widely criticized for failing to prevent the September 11 attacks in 2001, and in 2002 U.S. forces in Iraq failed to find the weapons of mass destruction that Tenet had claimed existed there. He resigned in 2004.

Profile

Former Central Intelligence Agency director. Born George John Tenet on January 5, 1953 in Queens, New York. The son of Greek and Albanian immigrants, Tenet grew up working in his family's diner and attending public school in Little Neck, Queens. He received his bachelor's degree from Georgetown University and his master's in international affairs from Columbia University.

Before working for the CIA, George Tenet served as research director for the American Hellenic Institute and legislative director to Pennsylvania Senator H. John Heinz III. He served on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence from 1985-1993 before President Clinton appointed him senior director for Intelligence Programs at the National Security Council. Tenet served as deputy director of the CIA from 1995-1997 and as director from 1997-2004.

During his tenure as CIA director, Tenet and the intelligence community were criticized for their failure to prevent the September 11 terrorist attacks. In 2002, Tenet lent his personal authority to intelligence reports verifying weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, a key factor in the decision to go to war. Subsequent searches yielded no such stockpiles. In 2004, George Tenet resigned his post as CIA director citing personal reasons. The Deputy Director, James Pavitt, resigned the following day. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom later that year.

In 2007, Tenet published a controversial memoir titled At the Center of the Storm: My Years at the CIA. He is married to Stephanie Glakas-Tenet; they have one son.