Who is Blaise Metreweli, first female head of Britain’s MI6?

The British authorities connected Sunday appointed Blaise Metreweli arsenic the country’s archetypal pistillate to service arsenic main of the UK’s overseas spy work MI6.

But though she volition beryllium the archetypal pistillate to pb the agency, Britain – and the satellite – person agelong had women play starring roles successful espionage.

So who is Metreweli, what does the brag of MI6 – besides known arsenic “C” – do, and who are immoderate of the different pistillate spies that person near a people connected the field?

Who is Blaise Metreweli?

Metreweli, 47, is simply a vocation quality officer. Until her assignment arsenic caput of MI6, she was the manager wide of exertion and innovation astatine MI6, besides known arsenic “Q”.

She joined MI6 arsenic a lawsuit serviceman successful 1999, and has held a scope of roles since then. She has worked successful Europe and the Middle East for the agency, and speaks Arabic, according to United Kingdom media.

In the past, she has besides worked astatine MI5, Britain’s home quality agency.

She studied anthropology astatine Cambridge University’s Pembroke College.

What is the relation of the M16 chief?

The main is the lone publically named subordinate of MI6 unit and reports straight to the British overseas secretary, a presumption presently held by David Lammy.

M16 was formed successful 1909 and collects overseas quality to recognize threats to, and opportunities for, the UK and its overseas interests.

The bureau besides works successful tandem with different British quality services, including MI5 and the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), which focuses connected intercepting and analysing physics signals and besides works connected cybersecurity. MI6 besides works connected cardinal partnerships specified arsenic the Five Eyes which comprise Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK and the United States.

Metreweli volition beryllium MI6’s 18th C. She volition regenerate Richard Moore, who led the bureau for the past 5 years.

Reacting to Metreweli’s appointment, Moore said: “I americium perfectly delighted by this historical assignment of my colleague, Blaise Metreweli to win maine arsenic ‘C’. Blaise is simply a highly accomplished quality serviceman and leader, and 1 of our foremost thinkers connected technology.”

In 2021, Moore said that China was the azygous top precedence for M16. Recently, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer insisted that Russia poses a menace to Europe. While announcing a boost successful defence infrastructure earlier this month, Starmer said: “The menace we look is much serious, much contiguous and much unpredictable than astatine immoderate clip since the Cold War.”

Green ink and the codename: Why is the main called ‘C’?

A communal misconception is that C stands for chief. The main is really called C due to the fact that Naval Officer Mansfield Smith-Cumming, the archetypal to go main successful 1909 signed his sanction arsenic C. The signifier has stuck since, Moore, the outgoing C, told BBC Radio 4 successful 2021.

Another immortalised signifier successful the spy work is that C lone writes successful greenish ink, physically and digitally, due to the fact that Cumming would thin to bash so, according to Moore. “Anyone getting a enactment successful greenish ink knows it comes from me, and the aforesaid is existent of the typescript connected my computer,” Moore said successful 2021.

Who are immoderate different pistillate spy chiefs successful the UK and different countries?

Three years earlier Judi Dench played the archetypal pistillate brag of MI6 successful the James Bond film, GoldenEye, Stella Rimington became the archetypal pistillate manager wide of the existent MI5 aft moving successful antithetic roles successful the work since 1969.

In 2002, Eliza Manningham-Buller became the manager wide of MI5 aft moving for the work since 1974.

Anne Keast-Butler presently leads GCHQ. She was antecedently the lawman manager wide of M15.

In the US, Tulsi Gabbard currently serves arsenic the manager of nationalist quality for President Donald Trump. Her predecessor nether erstwhile US President Joe Biden was besides a woman, Avril Haines.

Gina Haspel was the manager of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from 2018 to 2021. In Australia, Kerri Hartland leads the overseas quality postulation agency, the Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS).

What astir different pistillate spies?

During World War II successful particular, women played an important relation successful espionage.

Prominent spies for the British Special Operations Executive (SOE) included Noor Inayat Khan, Violette Szabo and Krystyna Skarbek.

Szabo, who spent clip successful France during her puerility and could talk French fluently, was connected a ngo successful France erstwhile she was captured by the Nazis and executed successful a attraction camp.

Inayat Khan was a vigor relation sent to Nazi-occupied France, wherever she was arrested and executed by the Gestapo, the concealed constabulary work of Nazi Germany. Skarbek, besides known by her codename Christine Granville was a Polish SOE agent, carrying retired missions crossed Nazi-occupied Europe and escaping German seizure twice.

During World War II, American spy Virginia Hall evaded the Gestapo, organising groups of agents, recruiting French residents for harmless houses and helping escaped prisoners of war.

Melita Norwood, a British citizen, was 1 of the longest-serving spies for the Soviet Union, serving for astir 4 decades from World War II done the Cold War. She provided the Soviet Union with accusation astir the British atomic weapons programme. British quality was lone capable to corroborate she was a spy successful the precocious 1990s, agelong aft she had retired. She died successful 2005, aged 93.