James S. Lay

James Selden Lay, Jr. was a U.S. intelligence officer and one of the early architects of the modern United States Intelligence Community, who played significant roles in various government agencies during his career. He was present for the creations of the Central Intelligence Group (CIG), the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and the National Security Council (NSC).

Life He attended the Virginia Military Institute, where he majored in electrical engineering and graduated second in his class in 1933. He later earned a master’s degree from Harvard Business School in 1935. In this capacity, he was responsible for coordinating meetings and facilitating communication among the board members, who were the intelligence chiefs of the Departments of State, War, Navy, and the Air Force.

Lay was also selected by Souers to become Executive Secretary of the National Intelligence Authority (NIA).

Lay's role as Executive Secretary involved organizing agendas, documenting discussions, and ensuring that directives and decisions were effectively communicated and implemented across the various intelligence agencies. His efforts contributed to the foundational coordination and integration of U.S. intelligence activities during the immediate post-World War II period. A portrait of him in this capacity is archived at the Harry S. Truman Library.

However, in The Journal of American History, Anna Kasten Nelson wrote that Lay did little to soothe the tensions that had formed at the NSC between Louis A. Johnson and Dean Acheson, who were at loggerheads over intelligence policy. Nelson wrote:

In 1961, Lay transferred to the CIA as Deputy Assistant to the Director of Central Intelligence (DADCI). At this time, the DCI was Allen Dulles.

In 1971, Lay officially retired, but continued to work as a consultant to the President's Intelligence Advisory Board until 1977.