Leslie Ireland

Leslie Ireland is the former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Intelligence and Analysis. She joined the Treasury in 2010 after 25 years at CIA where she specialized in Iran, the Middle East, and WMD. Ireland retired in November 2016 after more than 31 years in the Intelligence Community.

At the Treasury, Ireland was responsible for leading the analysis of key financial vulnerabilities of foreign threats to U.S. national security, e.g., Iran’s nuclear program, North Korean finance networks, foreign cyber threats to the U.S. financial sector, and foreign investment in the United States. Ireland was also responsible for expanding the infrastructure needed to protect the Treasury’s national security information and establishing the Treasury’s first Insider Threat Program. Concurrent in her role as Assistant Secretary, Ireland was appointed by the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) to serve as the first National Intelligence Manager for Threat Finance. In that role, she served as the principal advisor to the DNI on threat finance and was responsible for overseeing the intelligence process regarding the use of financial information to combat the wide range of U.S. national security threats. Ireland also created and chaired the DNI Financial Sector Advisory Board (FSAB).

Prior to joining the Treasury Department, Ireland served as a daily intelligence briefer to the president from 2008-2010. As the first DNI Iran Mission Manager from 2005-2008, she served as the principal advisor to the DNI on Iran and was responsible for overseeing the intelligence process on Iran for the entire U.S. government. She held a range of other assignments at CIA, including Executive Assistant to Director of Central Intelligence Porter Goss and Executive Assistant to Deputy Director of Central Intelligence/Acting Director of Central Intelligence John McLaughlin, and was detailed to the Office of the Secretary of Defense as Country Director for Iran and Kuwait.

Ireland is the recipient of the Alexander Hamilton Award, the highest award bestowed by the Secretary of the Treasury, the Intelligence Community Seal Medallion, personally awarded by the DNI, the National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal (2016 and 2008), and the CIA Intelligence Commendation Medal. She is a graduate of Franklin and Marshall College and Georgetown University.

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38 North: News and Analysis on North Korea