John H. Waller (CIA official)
John Henry Waller (May 8, 1923 – November 4, 2004) was an American historian and CIA official who served as the CIA’s Inspector General from July 1976 to January 1980. He was the first person to hold that post, serving under Presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter. He was succeeded by Charles Briggs.
Waller was born in Paw Paw, Michigan, and grew up in Detroit. He earned a BA from the University of Michigan in 1946 and married Barbara Steuart Hans in 1947; they had three children. After being rejected for military service because of an ear disorder, he joined the Office of Strategic Services and worked in counterespionage.
From 1947 to 1953 he was vice-consul with the U.S. Foreign Service in Iran, and he later served as a special assistant to the ambassador in New Delhi (1955–1957 and 1968–1971). He also worked in Khartoum in 1960 and as a State Department analyst from 1962 to 1968.
In the CIA, Waller led the Near East Division from 1971 to 1975 before becoming Inspector General. He earned the Distinguished Intelligence Medal and the National Civil Service Award. During his time as Inspector General, he led the CIA’s internal investigation into the arms-for-Libya case involving Edwin P. Wilson and Frank E. Terpil; his report cleared senior officials Theodore Shackley and Thomas Clines.
Waller lived in McLean, Virginia, from 1978 and retired in 1980. During the Iran-Contra era, he served as a trustee of a defense fund to help CIA personnel with legal costs. He was also a prolific writer, publishing history and espionage works, sometimes under the pen names John MacGregor and John Rowland, including Gordon of Khartoum (1988), Beyond the Khyber Pass (1990), The Unseen War in Europe (1996), and The Devil’s Doctor (2002).
John Waller died of pneumonia in Arlington, Virginia, in 2004. He was survived by his wife and three children.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 15:36 (CET).