Intelligence Brief: Blaise Metreweli Becomes First Female MI6 Chief in 116-Year History
Europe Monitoring Desk – Ujasusi Blog | 16 June 2025 | 2355 BST
Executive Summary
In an unprecedented milestone for the United Kingdom’s foreign intelligence community, the Secret Intelligence Service (commonly known as MI6) has appointed Blaise Metreweli as its new chief. Metreweli becomes the first female chief of MI6 in its 116-year history, taking over from outgoing Director Sir Richard Moore. The appointment is not only symbolic of progress in gender representation but also reflects a strategic pivot toward technological innovation, global intelligence coordination, and modernisation of British espionage capabilities. This intelligence brief explores her background, the historic significance of her role, strategic challenges ahead, and what her leadership means for the future of UK intelligence.
A Historic Breakthrough for British Intelligence
For over a century, MI6 has stood as one of the most secretive and powerful foreign intelligence agencies in the world. It is the United Kingdom’s premier organisation for human intelligence (HUMINT) gathering outside its borders. Now, in 2025, MI6 makes history by appointing its first-ever female chief, Blaise Metreweli. This ground-breaking development sends a powerful signal about the future of British intelligence, where technological mastery, strategic foresight, and inclusive leadership are rapidly becoming defining traits of top-tier espionage.
Metreweli’s rise also marks a transformation of MI6’s internal culture—one that had been criticised for being slow to embrace diversity at senior levels. Her appointment aligns MI6 with the broader intelligence community, where both MI5 and GCHQ have already appointed female leaders in past years.
Who Is Blaise Metreweli? Career, Biography, and Intelligence Credentials
Blaise Metreweli is a 47-year-old career intelligence officer whose work across MI6, MI5, and strategic foreign operations makes her uniquely qualified for the role of “C”—the codename for the chief of MI6. She studied anthropology at the University of Cambridge and joined MI6 in 1999, building a 26-year career that has spanned roles in counterintelligence, operational planning, technology innovation, and international fieldwork.
She served extensively in the Middle East and Europe, gaining critical experience in regions central to UK foreign policy and security operations. She is also believed to have worked in director-level positions at MI5, the UK’s domestic intelligence service, where she handled matters related to counterterrorism, counter-assassination, and the protection of critical infrastructure.
In recent years, Metreweli held the senior role of Director General “Q”, overseeing MI6’s technology and innovation division. Her leadership in this area was crucial in modernising the agency’s capacity to protect agent identities, develop surveillance countermeasures, and integrate advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, biometric evasion, and cyber-defensive tools into British espionage.
This tech-focused experience now positions her perfectly to steer MI6 in a global environment increasingly defined by data warfare, digital surveillance, and AI-enhanced espionage.