Alger Hiss (November 11, 1904 – November 15, 1996) was an American government official who was accused of being a Soviet Union spy in 1948[2] and convicted of perjury in connection with this charge in 1950. Before he was tried and convicted, he was involved in the establishment of the United Nations both as a U.S. State Department official and as a U.N. official. In later life he worked as a lecturer and author.