Stella Rimington, first woman to lead UK’s MI5, dies at 90

Stella Rimington, the first woman to head the UK's MI5 spy agency, has died at age 90. Photo / Getty Images

Stella Rimington, the first woman to head the UK’s domestic secret service MI5, has died at the age of 90, the spy agency has announced.

Rimington, who led MI5 from 1992 to 1996, was widely believed to be the inspiration behind the female role of M in the James Bond movies, played by English actress Judi Dench.

Rimington was the first Director-General of the intelligence service who was publicly named, as before her appointment in 1992, MI5 chiefs were never officially identified or photographed. Publication of her identity caused a press frenzy.

“As the first avowed female head of any intelligence agency in the world, Dame Stella broke through long-standing barriers and was a visible example of the importance of diversity in leadership,” the current MI5 Director-General Ken McCallum said in a statement.

“Her about the work MI5 does to keep this country safe, a legacy that continues to this day.”

McCallum expressed his condolences to Rimington’s husband, two daughters and her whole family.

In a statement, her family said: “She died surrounded by her beloved family and dogs and determinedly held on to the life she loved until her last breath.”

Born on May 13, 1935, in the southern London district of South Norwood, Rimington was first employed as a part-time typist at the British embassy in Delhi, having accompanied her diplomat husband to India.

She then joined MI5 in a fulltime post in 1969.

Dubbed the “housewife superspy”, the agency said Rimington had held various roles including in counter-subversion, counter-espionage and counter-terrorism.

During her time as director general, the agency “underwent far-reaching transformation”, the statement said.

It also moved its headquarters and “instituted a policy of greater public openness to demystify the work of MI5, including beginning a programme of releasing MI5 files to The National Archives”.

But Rimington triggered controversy when she published her memoirs Open Secret in 2001 after her retirement, with some accusing her of treason and MI5 of trying to block the publication.

“It was quite upsetting because suddenly you go from being an insider to being an outsider and that’s quite a shock,” she told The Guardian daily newspaper at the time.

But she added: “I’ve never been one to retreat at the first whiff of gunshot.”

Another woman, Eliza Manningham-Butler, took up the helm of MI5 between 2002-2007.

And Blaise Metreweli was named in June as the first female head of the UK’s overseas spy service MI6.

– Agence France-Presse