David Kirkpatrick Este Bruce (February 12, 1898 – December 5, 1977) was an American diplomat, intelligence officer and politician.

[3][4] Prior to the United States entry into World War II, Bruce had already been working for the Military Intelligence Division, and had been recruited by William Donovan into the Office of the Coordinator of Information (COI).

[7] [6] During World War II, Bruce headed the London Field Office of the OSS and coordinated espionage activities behind enemy lines for the United States Armed Forces branches.

[8] After leaving the OSS at the end of World War II, and before entering the diplomatic field, in 1948–1949 David Bruce was with the Economic Cooperation Administration which administered the Marshall Plan.

It was during this time that David Bruce and his new 2nd wife became an early member of the informal Georgetown Set within D.C. Bruce, as a member of the new President's Board of Consultants on Foreign Intelligence Activities, wrote a secret report on the CIA's covert operations for President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956 that was highly critical of its operation under Allen Dulles's leadership.

Bruce served as the Honorary Chair on the Board of Trustees of the American School in London during his diplomatic career in the United Kingdom.

With regard to Vietnam, Bruce privately questioned U.S. involvement and constantly urged the Johnson administration to allow Britain more of a role in bringing the conflict to an end.

Alexandra died under mysterious circumstances (possibly murder or suicide) in 1975 at age 29 at the Bruce family home in Virginia.