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last mo.

Blaise Metreweli Named First Female Chief of MI6

Her autumn succession places a technology specialist at the head of MI6 as Britain contends with heightened state and cyber threats.

Metreweli, 47, is a Cambridge University anthropology graduate who was in the winning crew against Oxford in the 1997 Boat Race (Photo: UK Government/AFP/Getty)
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Overview

  • Blaise Metreweli will become MI6’s 18th chief and the first woman to lead the Secret Intelligence Service since its founding in 1909.
  • She is scheduled to take over in autumn 2025, succeeding Sir Richard Moore after his five-year tenure.
  • Metreweli joined MI6 in 1999, has held senior roles at both MI6 and MI5, and currently directs the agency’s technology and innovation arm as Director General ‘Q’.
  • A Cambridge anthropology graduate with extensive operational experience across the Middle East and Europe, she received a CMG in 2024 for her services to British foreign policy.
  • Reporting to Foreign Secretary David Lammy, she will oversee MI6’s overseas intelligence operations in the face of intensifying cyber and state-sponsored threats.