2LT International News

LONDON, U.K.: On June 15, Britain named Blaise Metreweli as the first woman to lead the Secret Intelligence Service, commonly known as MI6.

Metreweli, 47, is a career intelligence officer who currently serves as the agency’s head of technology—a role known internally as “Q.”

She joined MI6 in 1999 and has worked mainly on operations in the Middle East and Europe, according to a government statement.

She will replace Richard Moore, the current MI6 chief, who is stepping down this autumn after five years in the role.

“I am proud and honored to be asked to lead my service,” Metreweli said. As the new chief of MI6, she will be known by the code name “C,” a tradition for the agency’s head.

Her appointment marks a historic moment. Founded in 1909, MI6 now joins Britain’s other central intelligence agencies—MI5 (domestic intelligence) and GCHQ (communications and cyber)—in having had a woman at the top.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who is in Canada attending the G7 summit, welcomed the news. “Britain is facing threats on an unprecedented scale,” he said. “I know Blaise will continue to provide the excellent leadership needed to defend our country.”

Metreweli will face significant global challenges in her new role, including threats from Russia, China, and Iran. British intelligence agencies have accused Russia of carrying out sabotage in Europe to deter support for Ukraine. In 2021, outgoing MI6 chief Moore said China was the agency’s top priority. MI5 also reported that Iran was behind 20 assassination or kidnapping plots against dissidents in the UK since 2022.

MI6, famously featured in spy novels and movies—from John le Carré’s George Smiley to Ian Fleming’s James Bond—focuses on intelligence gathering and national security overseas.

The government also noted that Metreweli previously held a senior role in MI5 and studied anthropology at the University of Cambridge.

MI5 has had two female leaders in the past: Stella Rimington, appointed in 1992, and Eliza Manningham-Buller, who served from 2002 to 2007. In 2023, GCHQ also appointed its first female director.

Metreweli’s appointment comes nearly 30 years after actress Judi Dench portrayed a female MI6 chief in the James Bond film GoldenEye. Now, fiction has become a reality.