Former Directors General

Between 1909, when the Security Service was founded (as the Secret Service Bureau) and the present day, there have been fifteen Directors General. Until 1993, the Prime Minister appointed them in secret, and their names and roles were not disclosed to the general public.

The first Director General to be publicly named was Dame Stella Rimington, although the names of several previous DGs had become public knowledge before then. Since 1993, it has been the Service's policy to name its Directors General. Jonathan Evans is the current Director General. In recent years, our Directors General have tended to serve about four to five years in their post.

Major-General Sir Vernon Kell (1873-1942)

Photograph of Captain Vernon Kell Sir Vernon Kell 1st Director General, 1909-1940

In 1909, Captain Vernon Kell (as he then was) co-founded the Secret Service Bureau, the first incarnation of the Security Service. He successfully masterminded the dismantling of the German spy network in the UK on the outbreak of World War I.

In 1931, he became the first Director-General of the Security Service and by 1939 had been promoted to the rank of Major-General. He was retired in June 1940 on the orders of the recently-appointed Prime Minister, Winston Churchill.

Brigadier A.W.A. Harker

Photograph of Awa Harker Brigadier A.W.A. Harker
2nd Director General, 1940-1941

Brigadier A.W.A. "Jasper" Harker replaced Sir Vernon Kell as Acting Director General of the Security Service in June 1940, having been promoted from the Service's "B" division. He was a long-serving colleague of Kell's who, like the former Director General, had been recruited from the Army.

He became the Service's new Deputy Director General a year later when Sir David Petrie took on the permanent role of Director General. He retired in 1946.

Sir David Petrie (1879-1961)

Photograph of David Petrie Sir David Petrie
3rd Director General, 1941-1946

Sir David worked in the Indian Police from 1900-1936, serving in a variety of police intelligence roles, before joining the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS). He was transferred from SIS to become head of the Security Service in 1941.

He oversaw one of the busiest periods in the Service's history, during which the Service carried out many successful intelligence operations against Nazi Germany. He retired from the Service following the end of the war.

Sir Percy Sillitoe (1888-1962)

Photograph of Percy Sillitoe Sir Percy Sillitoe
4th Director General, 1946-1953

Like his predecessor, Sir Percy came from a police background. He served as Chief Constable of a number of constabularies before becoming the Security Service's Director-General in 1946.

During his time in office, he faced the post-war rise in Soviet and Communist spying and subversion in the UK, including the exposure of the Cambridge spy ring. He became the first former Director General of the Service to publish an autobiography,Cloak without Dagger, in 1955.

Sir Dick White (1906-1993)

Photograph of Dick White Sir Dick White
5th Director General, 1953-1956

Sir Dick was a career Service officer, having joined in 1936. During the Second World War he was closely involved in operating the highly successful "Double Cross" system against Nazi Germany.

He became Director General in 1953 but in 1956 moved across to the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) to become its chief. He headed the SIS until his retirement in 1972 and remains the only person to have headed both organisations successively.

Sir Roger Hollis (1905-1973)

Photograph of Roger Hollis Sir Roger Hollis
6th Director General, 1956-1965

Sir Roger joined the Service in 1938 following an earlier career as a businessman. He was appointed Deputy Director General in 1953 and Director General in 1956, serving in that capacity for nine years.

In 1981, allegations were published claiming that Sir Roger had been a Soviet secret agent. These were investigated and found to be groundless. See our frequently asked historical questions for more on this topic.

Sir Martin Furnival Jones (1912-1997)

Photograph of M Furnival Jones Sir Martin Furnival Jones
7th Director General, 1965-1972

Sir Martin qualified as a solicitor before joining the Service in 1941. He served with distinction during the Second World War, working in a variety of roles at the Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) and the War Office.

He became Director General of the Service in 1965 and retired seven years later.

Sir Michael Hanley (1918-2001)

Photograph of Michael Hanley Sir Michael Hanley
8th Director General, 1972-1978

Sir Michael served as an officer of the Royal Artillery during the Second World War, subsequently becoming the Assistant Military Attaché in Budapest in 1946. He joined the Security Service in 1948.

He became Deputy Director General in 1971 and was promoted to Director General the following year.

Sir Howard Smith (1919-1996)

Photograph of Howard Smith Sir Howard Smith
9th Director General, 1978-1981

Sir Howard joined the Service after a long and distinguished career with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

During his 32 years in the Foreign Service he held a variety of posts, including serving as the British ambassador to Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union.

He became Director General of the Security Service in 1978.

Sir John Jones (1923-1998)

Photograph of John Jones Sir John Jones
10th Director General, 1981-1985

Sir John was a former officer in the Royal Artillery and served as a civil servant in the pre-independence Government of Sudan. He joined the Security Service in 1955.

He became Deputy Director General in 1976. He succeeded Sir Howard Smith as Director General in 1981.

In 1983, he was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) by HM The Queen.

Sir Antony Duff (1920-2000)

Photograph of Antony Duff Sir Antony Duff
11th Director General, 1985-1987

Like his predecessor-but-one, Sir Antony had a distinguished diplomatic career before joining the Service as its Director General. He served in a variety of high-profile roles with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, serving as the last Deputy Governor of Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) before its independence in 1980.

He subsequently became Deputy Secretary at the Cabinet Office before moving to the Security Service, which he headed for two years.

Sir Patrick Walker (1932- )

Photograph of Patrick Walker Sir Patrick Walker
12th Director General, 1987-1992

Sir Patrick joined the Security Service in 1963, following a period of service in the pre-independence government of Uganda.

He became Director General in 1987, overseeing the Service's transition though the end of the Cold War before his retirement in 1992.

Dame Stella Rimington (1935- )

Photograph of Stella Rimington Dame Stella Rimington
13th Director General, 1992-1996

Dame Stella was the first woman to become Director General of the Security Service and in 1993 became the first publicly acknowledged DG. She joined the Service in 1969 and worked in a variety of roles, including counter-subversion and counter-terrorism.

She was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the Bath in 1996 and published her autobiography, Open Secret, in 2001.

Sir Stephen Lander (1947- )

Photograph of Stephen Lander Sir Stephen Lander
14th Director General, 1996-2002

Sir Stephen joined the Service in 1975 and became Director General in 1996, serving in that capacity until his retirement from the Service in 2002.

He subsequently became the Law Society's Independent Commissioner.

In 2004 he became the Chairman-Designate of the Serious Organised Crime Agency (new window), a new body which became operational on 1 April 2006.

Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller (1948- )

Photograph of Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller
15th Director General, 2002-2007

Dame Eliza joined the Service in 1974 following an earlier career as a teacher. The main focus of her work was counter-terrorism, relating to both international and domestic terrorist threats. She became Deputy Director General in 1997, and in 2002 was appointed Director General of the Service. She retired in April 2007.

She was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the Bath in 2005.