William H. Webster, the former FBI and CIA director, has died at the age of 101, his family announced Friday.
Webster led the FBI from 1978 to 1987 and the CIA from 1987 to 1991, making him the only person to head the nation’s top law enforcement agency and its main intelligence agency.
“We are proud of the extraordinary man we had in our lives who spent a lifetime fighting to protect his country and its precious rule of law,” his family said in a statement.
Before his time leading agencies in Washington, he served as a federal prosecutor and later spent about eight years as a federal judge.
He also served in the US Navy during World War II and the Korean War.
Former President Jimmy Carter tapped Webster, a Republican, for a 10-year term as head of the FBI as the agency attempted to boost a reputation that had been tarnished by revelations of domestic spying, internal corruption and other abuses of power.
Webster was later selected by President Ronald Reagan to lead the CIA, replacing director William J. Casey, who had been criticized for being too political, ignoring Congress and contributing to the arms-for-hostages scandal known as Iran-Contra.
“Every director of the CIA or the FBI should be prepared to resign in the event that he is asked to do something that he knows is wrong,” Webster once said.
In 2002, the Securities and Exchange Commission chose Webster to lead a board created by Congress to oversee the accounting profession in response to scandals involving Enron and other corporations.
The FBI said it sends its prayers and condolences to Webster’s family after learning of his passing.
“He was a dedicated public servant who spent over 60 years in service to our country, including in the US Navy, as a federal judge, director of the CIA, and his term as our Director from 1978-1987,” the agency said in a statement. “We are grateful for his life and legacy and wish his family, friends, and colleagues peace and comfort during this time.”
Former FBI Director Christopher Wray, who departed the agency earlier this year, said he was “deeply saddened” by Webster’s death.
“My heart goes out to his family in this time of loss. His legacy will endure — not only in the institutions he guided, but in the generations of public servants he inspired to carry the torch forward,” Wray said in a statement.
Webster is survived by his second wife, Lynda Clugston Webster, and three children from his first marriage and their spouses, seven grandchildren and spouses and 12 great-grandchildren.
His first wife, Drusilla Lane, died in the 1980s.
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