UK appoints first female to lead MI6 spy agency
The infamous Secret Intelligence Service, known worldwide as MI6, has appointed its first ever female chief.
Image by UK Foreign Office
The infamous Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), known worldwide as MI6, has appointed its first ever female chief.
The appointment of Blaise Metreweli, currently the technology and innovation head at the UK Secret Intelligence Service (a position affectionately known as Q), was announced over the weekend by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Calling the news “historic,” Starmer said Metreweli’s assignment “comes at a time when the work of our intelligence services has never been more vital,” citing an “unprecedented scale” of threat facing the nation.
The 47-year-old Metreweli – the first woman in the agency's 116-year history of male-only leadership – said she was “proud and honoured” to be asked to lead the Service.
“MI6 plays a vital role – with MI5 and GCHQ – in keeping the British people safe and promoting UK interests overseas. I look forward to continuing that work alongside the brave officers and agents of MI6 and our many international partners,” Metreweli said.
Social media was ablaze with comments, many of them acknowledging the incoming chief’s 25-year career with UK intelligence services,, as well as her degree in Anthropology from Cambridge University, one of the world's leading educational insitutions.
One self-identified civil activist from the Republic of Georgia, noted the surname connection to his formerly Soviet nation.
“Blaise Metreweli, with a Georgian-rooted name, takes the helm of #MI6 at a pivotal moment. Her strategic mind and experience will be vital as the West confronts authoritarian threats, hybrid warfare, and looming tech dangers. Wishing her strength in defending the free world,” user @gocha_gogsadze posted on X.
Blaise Metreweli, with a Georgian-rooted name, takes the helm of #MI6 at a pivotal moment. Her strategic mind and experience will be vital as the West confronts authoritarian threats, hybrid warfare, and looming tech dangers. Wishing her strength in defending the free world. pic.twitter.com/KN3RKKxfcY
undefined Gocha Gogsadze (@gocha_gogsadze) June 16, 2025
Becoming the 18th chief of MI6, the London-born Metreweli will be replacing Sir Richard Moore, who will be leaving the Service this fall.
Moore also praised the decision, “I am absolutely delighted by this historic appointment of my colleague, Blaise Metreweli to succeed me as ‘C,’ he said.
“Blaise is a highly accomplished intelligence officer and leader, and one of our foremost thinkers on technology. I am excited to welcome her as the first female head of MI6,” Moore said.