Major-General Sir Kenneth William Dobson Strong, KBE, CB (9 September 1900 – 11 January 1982) was a senior officer of the British Army who served in the Second World War, rising to become Director General of Intelligence. A graduate of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, Strong was commissioned into the 1st Battalion, Royal Scots Fusiliers in 1920. After service as an Intelligence Officer with his battalion in Ireland from 1920 to 1922 during the Irish War of Independence, he volunteered for service as an interpreter and was posted to Germany with the British Army of the Rhine. In 1935 he returned to Germany as a member of the International Force supervising the Saarland plebiscite. Afterwards, he joined the German Intelligence Section at the War Office. In 1937 he became Assistant Military attaché in Berlin.

Strong became Head of the German Section at MI14 in August 1939, shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War. He commanded the 4th/5th Battalion, Royal Scots Fusiliers in 1941, before becoming Brigadier General Staff (BGS) for Intelligence at Home Forces in 1942. In March 1943, Strong was appointed Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence (G-2) at General Dwight D. Eisenhower's Allied Force Headquarters (AFHQ). He attended the Italian peace negotiations. In May 1944 he joined Eisenhower's Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF), and played a leading part in the negotiations for the unconditional surrender of Germany in 1945.

In August 1945, Strong became deputy director of the Political Warfare Executive, succeeding Sir Bruce Lockhart as its head a month later. He retired from the Army with the rank of major general in 1947 to become a civil servant. He was initially appointed director general of the Political Intelligence Department of the Foreign Office. He was the first director of the Joint Intelligence Bureau at the Ministry of Defence from 1948 until 1964, when he became the first director general of Intelligence at the Ministry of Defence. He retired from the civil service in 1966.

Kenneth William Dobson Strong was born in Montrose, Angus, Scotland, on 9 September 1900, the only son amongst four children, to John Strong, the rector of Montrose Academy and his wife Ethel May née Dobson. He was educated at Montrose Academy, Glenalmond College and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst.

Strong was commissioned into the 1st Battalion Royal Scots Fusiliers in 1920. He served as an intelligence officer with his battalion in Ireland from 1920 to 1922 during the Irish War of Independence. In 1922 he volunteered for service with the British Army of the Rhine. He was trained as an interpreter and posted to Germany from 1926 until the Occupation of the Rhineland ended in 1929. He then served as a Defence Security Officer in Malta and Gibraltar.

In 1935 he returned to Germany as a member of the International Force supervising the Saarland plebiscite. Afterwards, he joined the German Intelligence Section at the War Office. In 1937 he became assistant military attaché in Berlin to Noel Mason-Macfarlane. As such, Strong got to know many senior German military officers personally, including Wilhelm Keitel. Like Mason-Macfarlane, he became convinced that war with Germany was imminent and inevitable.

Strong was appointed Head of the German Section at MI14 in August 1939. He liaised with French intelligence until the Fall of France in June 1940. Thereafter, his section was concerned with the prospect of a German invasion. In April 1941, he assumed command of the 4th/5th Battalion Royal Scots Fusiliers, part of the 52nd (Lowland) Division. In March 1942, he became Brigadier General Staff (BGS) for Intelligence at GHQ Home Forces. For his services, Strong was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire.

In March 1943, Strong was appointed Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence (G-2) at General Dwight Eisenhower's Allied Force Headquarters (AFHQ), replacing Brigadier Eric Mockler-Ferryman, whose over-reliance on Ultra sources had led to a misinterpretation of the enemy's intentions leading up to the disastrous Battle of the Kasserine Pass. Strong got on well with Eisenhower and his chief of staff, Major General Bedell Smith in particular, and Americans in general. Stephen Ambrose wrote,