Leo Cherne
1912 – 1999 American economist, humanitarian, intelligence adviser
The head of the International Rescue Committee who also advised US intelligence during the Cold War.
- Religion
- Jewish
- Affiliations
- International Rescue Committee; President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board
Leo Cherne was a US economist who long chaired the International Rescue Committee, a refugee aid organization. He also served on the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, and the IRC's Cold War work overlapped with US foreign-policy and intelligence aims. His career illustrates the contested overlap between humanitarian NGOs and state interests.
In the timeline
- 1951 Leo Cherne's long leadership of the IRC central figure