Ken McCallum

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ken McCallum

Ken McCallum MI5.jpg
Ken McCallum, 2020
Born
Kenneth Douglas McCallum

Glasgow, Scotland
NationalityBritish
Alma materUniversity of Glasgow
OccupationIntelligence officer
Espionage activity
CountryUnited Kingdom
AllegianceFlag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom
AgencySecurity Service (MI5)
RankDirector General

Kenneth Douglas McCallum is the current Director-General of MI5.

Early life and education[]

Born, brought up and educated in Glasgow, McCallum attended a state school, after which he read mathematics at Glasgow University graduating with a First Class Honours Degree in 1996.[1][2]

Professional life[]

McCallum has been an officer at MI5 for over two decades, including service focused on Northern Ireland-related terrorism, and leading counter terrorism investigations during the London 2012 Olympic Games.[3] He was appointed Deputy Director General of MI5 in April 2017.[2]

In 2018, McCallum took charge of the MI5 response to the attempted assassination of Sergei Skripal.[4]

He succeeded Sir Andrew Parker as Director General of MI5 in April 2020.[5][3]

In 2021 McCallum said in his annual threat update that the activities of China, Russia and other hostile states could have as large an impact on the public as terrorism, marking a significant shift in emphasis from the UK’s domestic spy agency. McCallum said that the British public will have to “build the same public awareness and resilience to state threats that we have done over the years on terrorism”.[6]

References[]

  1. ^ "The following are expected to graduate today from Glasgow University". www.HeraldScotland.com. Glasgow Herald. 9 July 1996. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  2. ^ a b "New Director General of MI5 appointed". www.MI5.gov.uk. MI5. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Ken McCallum appointed new MI5 boss". www.BBC.co.uk. BBC News. 30 March 2020. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  4. ^ "New MI5 chief will be state‑school Scot who ran Skripal investigation". www.TheTimes.co.uk. The Times. 30 March 2020. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  5. ^ "Appointment of the new Director General of the Security Service". www.GOV.uk. GOV.uk. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  6. ^ "Threat to UK from hostile states could be as bad as terrorism, says MI5 chief". the Guardian. 14 July 2021.
Government offices
Preceded by Director General of MI5
2020– 		Followed by
incumbent
Retrieved from ""