The British government on Sunday appointed Blaise Metreweli as head of the Secret Intelligence Service, also known as MI6, making Metreweli the first woman to head the spy agency in decades after Judi Dench first played the head of MI6 in a James Bond film.
Metreweli, 47, is currently the head of technology at MI6, known as “Q,” and joined the Secret Intelligence Service in 1999 and has spent much of her career in operational roles in the Middle East and Europe, the British government said.
Richard Moore, the current head of MI6, will step down in the fall after a five-year term.
“I am proud and honoured to be asked to lead my service,” said Metreweli, who takes on one of the most powerful positions in Western intelligence and will be known by the codename “C.”
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Metreweli’s appointment comes at a time when Britain is “facing threats of an unprecedented scale.” “I know Blaise will continue to provide the excellent leadership needed to defend our country,” he said.
MI6, founded in 1909, joins the other major British spy agencies – domestic spy agency MI5 and intelligence and communications agency GCHQ – in already having women at their helm.
MI6 operates overseas and is tasked with defending Britain and its interests, and has been the site of many iconic fictional spies, including novelist John le Carré’s George Smiley and Ian Fleming’s James Bond.
Metreweli’s appointment comes three decades after actress Judi Dench first played the head of MI6 in the James Bond film Goldeneye.
