First ever female MI6 chief appointed

Blaise Metreweli CMG has been named the next Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), becoming the first woman to lead the organisation in its history.

She will assume the role—traditionally referred to as “C”—on 1 October 2025, succeeding Sir Richard Moore, who will retire in the autumn.

Metreweli’s appointment comes at a time of heightened global tensions and rapidly evolving technological threats. As Chief, she will be the operational head of MI6 and the only publicly named member of the organisation, accountable directly to the Foreign Secretary.

Metreweli joined MI6 in 1999 and has spent her career as an intelligence officer, with senior appointments across the UK intelligence community. In 2021, she served as Head of Hostile States Counterintelligence at MI5, and by June 2024, had become Director General at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). As of June 2025, she was Director General for Technology and Innovation at MI6—a position internally referred to as “Q”.

In a statement following her appointment, Metreweli said:

“I am proud and honoured to be asked to lead my 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.”

Sir Richard Moore, the outgoing Chief, welcomed her selection:

“I am absolutely delighted by this historic appointment of my colleague, Blaise Metreweli to succeed me as ‘C’. 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.”

Distinguished Career and Recognition

Over the course of her service, Metreweli has held roles of increasing responsibility, including at MI5 and the FCDO. Her experience spans operational intelligence, counterintelligence, and cutting-edge technological innovation—critical capabilities as the UK faces increasingly complex threats from hostile states and cyber actors.

In 2024, she was appointed a Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George (CMG) in the King’s Birthday Honours, cited “for services to British Foreign Policy” during her tenure at the FCDO.

Early Life and Education

Blaise Florence Metreweli was born in 1977 in the London borough of Brent and is of Eastern European heritage. Her surname is a German spelling of the Georgian family name Metreveli. She studied anthropology at Pembroke College, Cambridge, after attending Westminster School. While at Cambridge, she rowed in the winning Women’s Boat Race crew in 1997.

Her father, Dr. Konstantine Metreveli, was a radiologist in the Royal Army Medical Corps and later chaired the diagnostic radiology department at the Chinese University of Hong Kong from 1986 to 2001. He published extensively in the field of medical imaging.

Personal Life

Metreweli is married with children. In a 2021 interview with The Telegraph, conducted while she was a director at MI5 using the pseudonym “Director K,” she shared that her children had independently uncovered the true nature of her profession.

Her appointment to the top of MI6 not only marks a significant milestone for gender representation in British intelligence but also reflects the growing emphasis on technological expertise and inter-agency coordination in safeguarding UK national security.