MI6 Gets Its First Female Chief

For the first time in its 116-year history, Britain's storied MI6 intelligence service will be led by a woman. Blaise Metreweli, currently the agency's director general for technology and innovation, will take over as chief later this year, succeeding Sir Richard Moore, the BBC reports. Metreweli, 47, has worked at MI6, officially the Secret Intelligence Service, since 1999 and has also held senior roles in MI5, also known as the Security Service. She's credited with helping the service adapt to new technological threats, including efforts to counter adversaries' surveillance capabilities. She studied social anthropology at Cambridge University, and has held operational roles in Europe and the Middle East, notes the Guardian.

Metreweli said she was "proud and honored" to accept the post, emphasizing MI6's role in keeping the UK safe and advancing national interests abroad. Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the appointment "historic," noting the ongoing importance of intelligence work. MI6 focuses on gathering intelligence overseas to thwart terrorism, disrupt hostile states, and strengthen cybersecurity. The chief, known as "C," is the only publicly named officer in the agency, a tradition dating back to its first leader, Captain Mansfield Cumming, who signed correspondence with a green-ink "C."

Metreweli's appointment comes as MI6 faces challenges from Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea, as well as technical hurdles in an era of rapid digital change. In the Financial Times, outgoing chief Moore and his CIA counterpart recently described the global security situation as the most precarious since the Cold War, with China seen as a major long-term challenge. (Moore pushed for a woman to replace him.) (This content was created with the help of AI. Read our AI policy.)