Marshall, Donnie

[Page 492]On June 19, 2000, Donnie Marshall was officially sworn in as the seventh Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) administrator, and he remained in this position until his retirement on June 30, 2001. A 30-year veteran of the DEA, Marshall became the first special agent ever to become administrator of the agency. During his tenure, numerous international drug-trafficking and money laundering organizations were dismantled, while more than $90 million in currency and assets, 45,000 kilograms of cocaine, and 40,000 pounds of marijuana were seized and more than 4,100 arrests were made as a result of major agency operations.

Marshall began his law enforcement career as a special agent with the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, a predecessor of the DEA, in 1969. Various early DEA assignments included working as a special agent in Dallas and Houston, country attaché in Brazil, resident agent in charge in Austin, the Latin American region's deputy regional director, and senior inspector in the Office of Professional Responsibility. He served as the assistant special agent in charge of the Dallas Division from 1984 until 1986, when he became special agent in charge of the Aviation Division.

In 1995 Marshall became chief of domestic operations, whose oversight included the Aviation Division, and chaired the Sensitive Activities Review Committee, whose approval was sought for potentially controversial or high-risk missions. When he was promoted to chief of operations in 1996, Marshall was responsible for the daily management of the DEA, including directing multinational investigations targeting South American drug lords.

In 1998 Marshall was named deputy administrator of the DEA and took over as acting administrator on July 2, 1999, after his predecessor, Thomas Constantine, retired. On February 9, 2000, President Bill Clinton formally nominated Marshall to serve as administrator. After receiving Senate approval, Marshall was sworn in as DEA administrator on June 19, 2000. After retiring from the DEA on June 30, 2001, Marshall entered the private sector. He has served as executive vice president for homeland defense at Science Applications International Corporation, president of international operations for DynCorp International, and president and general manager of Omnisec International Investigations, Inc.

Born in 1947, Marshall earned a Bachelor of Science degree in economics from Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas, where he worked as a firefighter while in college. Additionally, he was awarded a certificate from the National Executive Institute, which provides training in law enforcement and security management at the Federal Bureau of Investigation.