Mike Burgess (intelligence chief)

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Mike Burgess
14th Director-General of Security
Assumed office
16 September 2019
Prime MinisterScott Morrison
Preceded byDuncan Lewis
Personal details
BornEngland, United Kingdom
ProfessionIntelligence officer

Michael P. Burgess is an Australian intelligence official, and the current Director-General of Security in charge of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO). Prior to his appointment to this role on 16 September 2019, Burgess was director-general of the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD).

Early life[]

Burgess was born in England, and immigrated to Adelaide, South Australia in 1973 at the age of seven. He was the first member of his family to study in higher education, receiving a degree in electrical engineering from the South Australian Institute of Technology in 1988.[1]

Intelligence career[]

Burgess joined ASD (then called the Defence Signals Directorate) in 1995, and worked there for 18 years before leaving to work in the private sector, notably as chief information security officer for Telstra, then as a cyber-security consultant and advisor.[2] In December 2017, he returned to ASD as its director-general.[3] In August 2019, prime minister Scott Morrison and Minister for Home Affairs Peter Dutton announced Burgess had been appointed to replace the retiring Duncan Lewis as the head of ASIO.[4]

In February 2022 Burgess announced that ASIO had foiled a plot by foreign interference that involved an attempt by a foreign government to install political candidates in the lead-up to the coming national election in Australia.[5]

References[]

  1. ^ "UniSA Alumni Awards Recipient: Mike Burgess". University of South Australia. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  2. ^ Easton, Stephen (8 August 2019). "From code-breaking and cyber security to counter-terrorism: ASD boss picked to lead ASIO". The Mandarin. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  3. ^ Hendry, Justin (1 December 2017). "Mike Burgess returns to ASD". iTnews. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  4. ^ "Spy boss to take over top job at ASIO". ABC News. 8 August 2019. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  5. ^ Galloway, Anthony (2022-02-09). "ASIO tracking foreign spies on dating apps Tinder and Bumble". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2022-02-14.
Government offices
Preceded by Director-General of Security
2019–present 		Incumbent
Preceded by
Paul Taloni
 Director-General of the
Australian Signals Directorate
2017–2019 		Succeeded by
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