Dulles, Allen Welsh

Dulles, Allen Welsh Dulles, Allen Welsh dul ´?s [key], 1893â€"1969, U.S. public official, b. Watertown, N.Y.; brother of John Foster Dulles . The Dulles brothers, born into America's political establishment, became extremely influential governmental figures, and during the cold war they played principal roles in the developing and implementing United States' interventionist foreign policy. Allen entered the diplomatic service in 1916 and became (1922) chief of the State Deptartment's division of Near Eastern affairs. In 1926 he resigned to practice law. During World War II he was a prominent member of the Office of Strategic Services . Returning (1951) to government service as deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency , Dulles became director in 1953. Under his leadership, the CIA was strengthened and made a more effective element in the U.S. intelligence system. Dulles resigned in 1961 after a series of events (most notably the Bay of Pigs Invasion of Cuba) in which the CIA played a co ntroversial role and aroused much criticism. His works include Germany's Underground (1947), The Craft of Intelligence (1963), and Secret Surrender (1966). See biography by P. Grose (1994); S. Kinzer, The Brothers: John Foster Dulles, Allen Dulles, and Their Secret World War (2013). The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. See more Encyclopedia articles on: U.S. History: Biographies