Blaise Metreweli Becomes First Woman to Lead UK Spy Agency MI6
Appointment
4 min read
Blaise Metreweli, has become the first female to be appointed as head of the United Kingdom’s Secret Intelligence Service or the MI6.She will be the18th head of the MI6 and will replace the current chief Sir Richard Moore later this year.
The United Kingdom has three intelligence services MI6, MI 5 and GCHQ. Female has been the head of the MI5 and the GCHQ but this will be the first time that a female will head the MI6.
Secret Service of the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has three secret services.
- Secret Service or MI5 - is responsible for the collection and processing of intelligence within the country (In India this is done by the Intelligence Bureau).
- Secret Intelligence Service or MI6 - responsible for external intelligence collection. It provides human intelligence (In India it is done by Research and Analysis Wing (RAW)).
- Government Communication Headquarters (GQCH)- It provides signal intelligence by monitoring the communication and computer networks of foreign countries or groups hostile to them.(In India this is done by National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO)).
About Blaise Metreweli
47-year-old Blaise Metreweli is currently the Director General of the "Q" section.
The Q section in the MI6 is the crucial technology and innovation division of the MI6. The division aims to protect the secret identities of the MI6 secret agents and to develop technologies that can help the secret agents evade detection by foreign secret services.
Blaise Metreweli has previously held director-level jobs in the domestic secret service, MI5.
About C and the MI6
The Secret Intelligence Service, or MI6, was established in 1909.
The head of the MI6 is called “C” and it is the only member of the MI6 who is named and acknowledged by the United Kingdom government.
C does not stand for Chief. The “C” name is derived from Captain Mansfield, who used to sign the letter with the codename “C”.
Captain Mansfield was the first chief of Britain's first spy agency Secret Service Bureau that was established in the 1900s.
Captain Cumming wrote in green ink. To this day, the head of MI6 is the only person in the British government who writes in green ink.
Foreign Secret Service of other Countries
Research and Analysis Wing (RAW)- India
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)- United States of America
Mossad- Israel
Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR)-Russia
Directorate General for External Security (DGSE)-France
Ministry of State Security - China
Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI)-Pakistan
Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS)- Canada
