For the first time in its 116-year history, Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service, MI6, will be led by a woman, the BBC has reported.
Blaise Metreweli, who joined the agency in 1999, will become the 18th head of the organization, taking over from Richard Moore later this year. She currently serves as the Director General for Technology and Innovation within the service and has expressed that she is “proud and honored” to be asked to lead the agency.
A Historic Appointment in Critical Times
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer described her appointment as “historic” at a time when “the work of our intelligence services has never been more vital.”
MI6 is tasked with collecting intelligence abroad to enhance the security of the United Kingdom, with core objectives including preventing terrorism, disrupting hostile state activities, and strengthening cybersecurity. The head of MI6 is traditionally referred to as “C” and is the only publicly named member of the service.
Metreweli, 47, is currently the Director General “Q” – the head of the critical Technology and Innovation Division, which aims to keep secret agents’ identities covert and develop new ways to evade adversaries, such as China’s biometric surveillance.
“MI6 plays a vital role – with MI5 and GCHQ – in keeping Britons safe and promoting UK interests abroad,” she emphasized. “I look forward to continuing that work alongside the courageous officers and agents of MI6 and our many international partners.”
Career and Strategic Focus
Metreweli, who studied anthropology at Cambridge University, previously held director-level positions at MI5 – MI6’s sister agency, the domestic security service – and spent much of her career working in the Middle East and Europe.
In the King’s Birthday Honours List 2024, she was awarded the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George for her services to British foreign policy.
Speaking to “The Telegraph” in December 2021 when she was at MI5, under the pseudonym “Director K,” Metreweli stated that national security threats to the UK “really are diverse.”
“The threats we are seeing primarily exist around protecting government, protecting secrets, protecting our people, protecting our economy, sensitive technology, and critical knowledge,” she declared.
She added that “the activity of the Russian state – not Russia itself – remains a threat” and that China is “changing the way the world is and presents amazing opportunities and threats to the UK.”
