Al Ulmer

Infobox Person
name = Alfred C. Ulmer Jr.
birth_date = May, 1917
birth_place = Jacksonville, Florida
death_date = June 22, 2000
death_place = Virginia Beach, Virginia

Alfred Ulmer was born in Jacksonville, Florida on May, 1917. Ulmer graduated from Princeton University in 1939 and went on to work in the Navy as a major head of intelligence operations during World War II. He married Doris Gibson Bridges and had a son (Nicholas) and a daughter (Marguerite). He received the Intelligence Medal of Merit when he retired from his position in 1962. Ulmer later went on to business and joined the Swiss banking firm Lombar in Geneva. He died on June 22, 2000 in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Career in Intelligence

Ulmer began his career in intelligence as a major head of intelligence operations for the Navy during World War II. He then joined the OSS in 1945 and oversaw operatives gathering information in Turkey, Egypt, Italy and Austria.

When the OSS was disbanded in 1945, Ulmer was recruited by the newly formed CIA to become head of the Strategic Services Unit (SSU) in Austria. As a head of the SSU in Austria, Ulmer expanded his base of operations to include the whole Balkan's area including such controversial places as Yugoslavia and Hungary . Although the SSU lacked the personnel to effectively carry out covert operations, Ulmer pushed for more money and was finally rewarded by a $150,000 annual budget. His glory at the SSU was short lived though as the SSU was soon liquidated into the CIA by the new Central European Section chief, Richard Helms.

After the SSU was liquidated, Ulmer was given a position as head of Far East operations for the CIA. At his new position Ulmer coordinated the overthrow of the president of Indonesia (Sukarno) in 1957. The main reason behind the rebellion was to rid Indonesia of its growing Communist Party . The rebellion was a failure, and many criticized Ulmer for the subsequent failure.

Awards

Intelligence Medal of Merit

Bibliography

*"Safe For Democracy: The Secret Wars of the CIA" by John Prados (2006) ISBN 1-56663-574-8
*"Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA" by Tim Weiner (2007) ISBN 978-0-385-51445-3

References

**http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9806EEDD1439F932A35754C0A9669C8B63
**http://webscript.princeton.edu/~paw/memorials/memdisplay.php?id=6779
**http://books.google.com/books?id=VAbkogswOmEC&pg=PA59&lpg=PA59&dq=alfred+ulmer+cia&source=web&ots=cLvoxx3HD1&sig=cD3ONKw9DAVJL2jvWkm2Mcc3eu4&hl=en