IMMEDIATE  RELEASE  May  43    1961 
Office  of  the  White  House  Press  Sec re tar v 
THE  WHITE  HOUSE 
The  President  today  issued  an  Executive  Order  establishing  the 
Fresidentrs  Foreign  Intelligence  Advisory  Beard* 
Today's  order  reactivates,  under  broadened  terms  of  reference, 
the  President's  Board  of  Consultants  on  Foreign  Intelligence  Activities 
which  was  established  by  President  Eisenhower  in  1956#  following  a  rec- 
ommendation of  tiie  Commission  on  Organization  of  the  Executive  3ranch 
of  the  Government*      New  appointments  are  being  made  to  the  Board  be- 
cause the  resignations  of  the  members  of  the  prior  Board  of  Consultants 
were  submitted  to  and  accepted  by  President  Eisenhower  before  he  left 
office  ♦ 
Composed  of  able  and  experienced  individuals. from  outside  the 
Government*   the  reactivated  Board  will  be  responsible  for  conducting  an 
objective,,  independent  review  of  the  foreign  intelligence  and  related  ac- 
tivities of  the  Government  and  for  reporting  periodically  to  the  President 
with  respect  to  its  assessment  of  the  objectives  and  performance  of  these 
activities  by  the  Central  Intelligence  Agency  and  the  several  additional 
civilian  and  military  agencies  engaged  therein. 
The  respon3ibilities  assigned  to  the  President's  Foreign  Intelli- 
gence  Advisory  Board  are  of  a  continuing  nature  and  encompass  the  total 
U.  So  foreign  intelligence  effort**  They  are  to  be  distinguished  from 
the  ad  hoc  and  much  more  limited  study  that  is  presently  being  made  by 
General  Maxwell  Tavlor, 
The  members  of  the  Board  in  whose  Qualification  and  discretion 
the  President  has  the  fullest  confidence  are  as  follows: 
Dr,   James  R#  Killian,   Jr.  t   Chairman 
Chairman  of  the  Corporation 
Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology 
Cambridge,   Massachusetts 
Dr,   William  O*  Baker 
Vice  President,  Research 
Bell  Telephone  Laboratories 
Murray  Hill,   New  Jersey 
Lit.-  General  James  H.   Doclittle,   USAF  (Het. ) 
Chairman  of  the  Board 
Space  Technology  Laboratories P   Inc» 
Los  Angeles*    California 
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\s 
-  2  - 
Dr.   William  Lt   Langer 
Professor  of  History 
Harvard  University 
Cambridge,  Massachusetts 
The  Honorable  Robert  D.  Murphy 
President 
Corning  Glass  International 
New  York,   N*  Y. 
General  Maxwell  Taylorf  USA  (Ret*) 
President,   Lincoln  Center  for  the 
Performing  Arts,  Incorporated 
New  York  City,  N,   Y. 
Mr„  J«,  Patrick  Coyne,  former  official  of  the  Federal  Bureau  of 
Investigation  and  the  National  Security  Council,  will  continue  tc  serve  ao 
Executive  Secretary  of  the  reactivated  Board. 
It  is  contemplated  that  in  the  near  future  the  President  may  ap- 
point additional  individuals  to  membership  on  the  Boar  do 
The  text  of  the  Executive  Order  follows: 
EXECUTIVE  ORDER 
ESTABLISHING  THE  PRESIDENT'S  FOREIGN  INTELLIGENCE 
ADVISORY  BOARD 
3y  virtue  of  the  authority  vested  in  me  as  President  of  the  United 
States9   it  is  ordered  as  follows: 
Section  1#       There  is  hereby  established  the  President's  Foreign 
Intelligence  Advisory  Board.       The  function  of  the  Board  shall  be  to  advise 
the  President  with  respect  to  the  objectives  and  conduct  of  the  foreign  in« 
telligence  and  related  activities  of  the  United  States  which  are  required  in 
the  interests  of  foreign  policy  and  national  defense  and  security*
-  3  - 
Section  2,      In.  the  performance  o£  its  advisory  duties,  the  Board 
shall  conduct  a  continuing  review  and  assessment  of  all  functions  of  the 
Central  Intelligence  Agency*  and  of  other  executive  departments  and  agen- 
cies having  such  or  similar  responsibilities  in  the  foreign  intelligence  and 
related  fields^  and  shall  report  thereon  to  the  President  each  six  months 
or  more  frequently  as  deemed  appropriate.      The  Director  of  Central  In- 
telligence and  the  heads  of  other  departments  and  agencies  concerned  shall 
make  available  to  the  Board  any  information  with  respect  to  foreign  intelli- 
gence matters  which  the  Board  may  require  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  out 
its  responsibilities  to  the  President.      The  information  so  supplied  to  the 
Board  shall  be  afforded  requisite  security  protection  as  prescribed  by  the 
provisions  of  applicable  laws  and  regulations « 
Section  3.      Members  of  the  3oard  shall  be  appointed  from  among 
qualified  persons  outside  the  Government  and  shall  receive  such  compen- 
sation and  allowance5fl   consonant  with  law,   as  may  be  prescribed  here- 
after.     Such  compensation  and  allowances  and  any  other  expenses  arising 
in  connection  with  the  work  of  tbe  Beard  shall  be  paid-  from  the  appropria- 
tion, appearing  under  the  heading  "Special  Projects"  in  title  I  of  the  General 
Government  Matters  Appropriation  Act,   1961,   74  Stat.  473,   and,   to  the  ex- 
tent permitted  by  law,  from  any  corresponding  appropriation  which  may  be 
made.for  subsequent  years.      Such  payments  shall  be  made  without  regard 
to  the  provisions  of  section  3681  of  the  Revised  Statutes  and  section  9  of 
the  act  of  March  4,   1909,    35-Stat.    1027  (31  U.S.C,   672  and  673). 
■-  *  * 
Section  4.  '    Executive  Order  No.    10656-6f  February  6,    1956.   is 
hereby  revoked.    -  -  — 
JOHN  F.   KENNEDY 
THE  WHITE  HOUSE, 
May  4,    1961. 
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*•    4    •• 
The  text  of  the  letter  from  the  President  to  the  members  of  the 
Advisory  Board  follows: 
Dear 
* 
I  am  delighted  that  you  have  consented  to  serve  as  a  member  of  the 
Presidents  Foreign  Intelligence  Advisory  Board  which  is  being  reactivated 
pursuant  to  an  Executive  Order  iseued  earlier  today* 
I  am  establishing  this  Board  for  the  purpose  of  providing  me  period- 
ically with  independent  evaluations  of  the  objectives  and  conduct  of  U«  S. 
foreign  intelligence  activities  and  of  the  performance  of  the  several  agen- 
cies engaged  in  foreign  intelligence  and  related  efforts  r 
It  is  my  desire  that  the  Board  should  meet  periodically  to  analyse 
objectively  the  work  of  the  Government's  foreign  intelligence  agencies. 
While  the  review  by  the  Board  will  be  concerned  with  all  U%  S.  foreign  in- 
telligence activities,  I  would  expect  particular  attention  to  be  devoted  to  the 
performance  of  those  civilian  and  military  intelligence  elements  of  key  im- 
portance to  the  Government  in  the  fields  of  national  security  and  foreign 
relations*      I  am  especially  anxious  to  obtain  the  Board's  views  as  to  the 
over-all  conduct  and  progress  of  the  foreign  intelligence  effort  as  well  as 
its  advice  as  to  any  modifications  therein  which  wcuid  enhance  the  acquisi- 
tion of  intelligence  essential  to  the  policy  making  branches  of  the  Govern* 
ment  in  the  areas  of  national  security  and  foreign  relations* 
It  is  my  hope  that  you  and  the  others  whom  I  have  invited  to  serve 
on  the  Board  will  be  able  to  meet  with  me  in  the  near  future  to  discuss  in 
detail  the  scope  of  the  work  which  you  have  so  generously  agreed  to  under- 
take o 
I  know  that  you  and  your  fellow  Board  members  can  make  a  real 
contribution  to  the  national  interest  by  your  service  with  this  body* 
Sincerely, 
JOHN  F.  KENNEDY 
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