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Former CIA, NSA head Michael Hayden recovering after stroke, family says

By Theresa Seiger, Cox Media Group National Content Desk

Former CIA and NSA Director Gen. Michael Hayden delivers remarks on the nation's national security and alleged hacking and interference in the 2016 presidential and national elections, at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, DC. 

By Theresa Seiger, Cox Media Group National Content Desk

Retired Air Force Gen. Michael Hayden, who previously served as head of the CIA and director of the National Security Agency, is recovering after having a stroke earlier in the week, family members confirmed Friday in a statement.

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Hayden, 73, was hospitalized after having the stroke, according to a statement released by the Michael V. Hayden Center for Intelligence, Policy, and International Security.

“He is receiving expert medical care for which the family is grateful,” the statement said. “As General Hayden begins the healing process, the family requests that their privacy be respected. The General and his family greatly appreciate the warm wishes and prayers of his friends, colleagues, and supporters.”

The severity of the stroke was not immediately clear.

Hayden, a retired four-star general, served under presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama. He served from 1999 to 2005 as director for the NSA before becoming the first principal director of national intelligence. He served in that post until 2006, when he was named director of the CIA. He was succeed in that role by Leon Panetta in February 2009.

Cox Media Group

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