WASHINGTON, Jan. 9 (UPI) -- National Intelligence Director Michael McConnell has agreed to be on Barack Obama's foreign intelligence advisory board, the president-elect said Friday.
McConnell is sworn in as director of national intelligence Feb. 20, 2007, becoming the second person to hold the position, Wikipedia.com reported. McConnell's appointment was greeted with broad bipartisan support, but he since has drawn criticism for advocating some of the Bush administration's more controversial policies.
McConnell was born and grew up in Greenville, S.C. He first attended college at North Greenville Junior College. He holds an Master's of Public Administration from George Washington University and is a graduate of the National Defense University and the National Defense Intelligence College, and holds a bachelor's degree in economics from Furman University.
He is married to Terry McConnell, and they have four children and six grandchildren.
McConnell was the intelligence officer for the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman and the defense secretary during operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, and the disbanding of the Soviet Union.
From 1992 to 1996, McConnell was director of the National Security Agency. Under his leadership, NSA provided global intelligence and information security services to the White House, Cabinet officials, Congress, and military and civilian intelligence customers, the online encyclopedia said.
In 1996, McConnell retired as a vice admiral from the U.S. Navy after 29 years of service.
Before his nomination as director of national intelligence, McConnell was a senior vice president with the consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton, focusing on the intelligence and national security. He was also board chairman of the Intelligence and National Security Alliance, the private intelligence industry's industry association.
