Former FBI and CIA Director William H. Webster passed away on August 8. He was 101.
A retired partner at Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy in Washington, DC, and chair of the Homeland Security Advisory Council from 2005 to 2020, Judge Webster was the only person to serve as director of both the CIA and the FBI. He was an active member of The American Law Institute for more than five decades and served on its Council for 31 years.
Born on March 6, 1924, in St. Louis, Missouri, Judge Webster graduated from Amherst College and received his law degree from Washington University Law School in St. Louis. He served as a lieutenant in the United States Navy in World War II and again in the Korean War. He was a practicing attorney with a St. Louis law firm from 1949 to 1959, and then served as United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri from 1960 to 1961.
In 1970, Judge Webster was appointed to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri; in 1973, he was elevated to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. He resigned on February 23, 1978, to become director of the FBI. As FBI director, he oversaw the successful prosecution of some of New York’s biggest mafia families. He served for nearly a decade before being sworn in as director of Central Intelligence on May 26, 1987. In this position, he headed the Intelligence Community (all foreign intelligence agencies of the United States) and directed the CIA until September 1, 1991. Following his departure from the CIA, he joined the law firm of Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy in Washington, DC, specializing in arbitration, mediation, and internal investigation.
During his service on the bench, Judge Webster was chairman of the Judicial Conference Advisory Committee on Criminal Rules and a member of the Ad Hoc Committee on Habeas Corpus and the Committee on Court Administration.
Judge Webster became a member of the ALI in 1960. Elected to the ALI Council in 1978, he served for 25 years as chair of the Nominating Committee, which recommends candidates for ALI’s Council and officer positions, and was a member of the Executive Committee for 20 years. Judge Webster also served on the Awards Committee and the Special Committee on Strategic Communications. He was an Adviser to the Council for the Institute’s Principles of Corporate Governance: Analysis and Recommendations.
In July 1991, Judge Webster was presented the CIA’s Distinguished Intelligence Medal. Later that year, he was awarded the National Security Medal and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States. In 2013, he was the recipient of the ALI’s most prestigious award, the Henry J. Friendly Medal, recognizing contributions to the law in the tradition of the late Judge Friendly and The American Law Institute. A video of his remarks is available below.
The Institute has lost a leader of uncommon stature, and many of us have lost a dear friend and mentor. We are grateful for Judge Webster’s many years of dedication to the ALI and for the privilege of having worked alongside him.
In 2013, ALI awarded Judge Webster the Henry J. Friendly Medal. at the 2013 Annual Meeting. The medal was presented by Merrick Brian Garland, 86th United States Attorney General and Former Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. A video of his remarks is available above and on the ALI Media Library.