George S. Papadopoulos was appointed as DEA Principal Deputy Administrator, effective July 4, 2023.  Papadopoulos serves as the principal assistant to the DEA Administrator and leads an agency of nearly 10,000 public servants who work in DEA’s 334 offices across the globe. 

Papadopoulos most recently served as the agency’s Acting Chief of Operations and previously served as the agency’s Deputy Chief of Operations. In these capacities, he oversaw all operational and enforcement matters for DEA and, before that, was the primary advisor to the DEA’s Chief of Operations on all international issues.

Papadopoulos began his career with DEA in 1996 as a Special Agent in the Detroit Field Division. In 2004, he deployed to Greece where he was responsible for DEA activities and investigations throughout Greece, Northern Macedonia, and Romania. Upon his return to the United States, Papadopoulos was assigned to DEA’s Special Operations Bilateral Investigations Unit (BIU). There he focused on international drug trafficking organizations operating throughout the Western Hemisphere and later coordinated multi-national and multi-jurisdictional operations throughout Mexico and Central America.  He served as Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the BIU from 2015 to 2021.

Papadopoulos is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago.