Dame Stella Rimington in her official photo as Director-General of MI5

Dame Stella Rimington, DCB (born May 1935) was the Director-General (DG) of MI5 from 1992 to 1996. She was the first female DG of MI5, and the first DG whose name was publicised on appointment. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (888x1203, 234 KB)Source: http://www. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (888x1203, 234 KB)Source: http://www. ... Badge of a Companion of the Order of the Bath (Military Division) The Most Honourable Order of the Bath (formerly The Most Honourable Military Order of the Bath)[1] is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Link titleThe head of the Security Service (MI5), the U.Ks internal counter terrorism and counter espionage service. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Early life

Born Stella Whitehouse in South London, England, Rimington's family moved from South Norwood to Essex in 1939, due to the danger of living in London during World War II. Her father got a job as chief draughtsman at a steel works in Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria, and the family moved there after spending some time in Wallasey. When her father got a job in Ilkeston, Derbyshire, the family moved to the Midlands, where Stella attended Nottingham High School for Girls. She spent her last summer of secondary school working as an au pair in Paris, France, before enrolling at the University of Edinburgh in 1954 to study English. By chance, she met her future husband, John Rimington, whom she had known from Nottingham, in Edinburgh. South London area South London (known colloquially as South of the River) is the area of London south of the River Thames. ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen Capital London (de facto) Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2006 est. ... South Norwood is a place in the London Borough of Croydon. ... Essex is a county in the East of England. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Barrow-in-Furness is a town in Cumbria, England. ... Cumbria (IPA: ), created in 1974, is a county in the North West region of England. ... Arms of the former Wallasey County Borough Council, 1913-74 Wallasey is a large town on the mouth of the River Mersey, at the north-eastern corner of the Wirral. ... Ilkeston is a town in Derbyshire, in the East Midlands region of England, on the River Erewash. ... Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. ... In general, the midlands of a territory are its central regions. ... Nottingham High School for Girls is a selective day school, founded in 1875, situated just north of the City of Nottingham. ... The Eiffel Tower has become the symbol of Paris throughout the world. ... The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1582,[4] is a renowned centre for teaching and research in Edinburgh, Scotland. ... 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Edinburgh (pronounced ; Scottish Gaelic: ) is the capital of Scotland and its second-largest city. ...

Completing her degree in 1958, she studied archive administration at the University of Liverpool, before beginning work as an archivist at the County Record Office in Worcester in 1959. In 1961, she married John Rimington and moved to London, where she successfully applied for a position at the India Office Library. Year 1958 (MCMLVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The University of Liverpool is a university in the city of Liverpool, England. ... An archivist surveying an unprocessed collection of materials. ... The city of Worcester (pronounced ) is a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England, situated some 30 miles (48 km) southwest of Birmingham and 29 miles (47 km) north of Gloucester. ... Year 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1961 calendar). ... The India Office was the British government department responsible for the government of British India. ...

In 1965, her husband was offered an overseas posting as First Secretary (Economic) for the British High Commission in New Delhi, India, and the couple sailed to India in September. A High Commissioner is a person serving in a special executive capacity. ... New Delhi   (Hindi: , Punjabi: , Urdu: ‎) is an urban area within the metropolis of Delhi, and the capital city of the Republic of India, as well as the seat of the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi. ...

India and MI5

In 1967, after two years in India, Rimington was asked to assist one of the First Secretaries at the High Commission with his office work. She agreed, and when she began, discovered that he was the representative in India of the British Security Service (MI5). Gaining her security clearance, she worked in the MI5 office for nearly two years, until the couple returned to London in 1969, where Stella decided to apply for a permanent position at MI5. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Between 1969 and 1990, Rimington worked in all three branches of the Security Service: counter espionage, counter subversion, and counter terrorism. In 1984, she and her husband John separated, with Stella retaining custody of their two daughters. In 1990, she was promoted to one of the Service's two Deputy Director-General positions, where she oversaw MI5's move to Thames House. In December 1991, she made a visit to Moscow to make the first friendly contact between the British intelligence services and their old enemies, now allies, the KGB. On her return from Russia, she was told she had been promoted to Director-General. Espionage operations intended to identify enemy spies. ... Counter-terrorism or counterterrorism refers to the practices, tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, militaries, and other groups adopt in order to fight terrorism. ... Thames House is an office development in London on the bank of the River Thames adjacent to Lambeth Bridge. ... Location Position of Moscow in Europe Government Country District Subdivision Russia Central Federal District Federal City Mayor Yuriy Luzhkov Geographical characteristics Area  - City 1,081 km² Population  - City (2007)    - Density 10,469,000   9684. ... The KGB emblem and motto: The sword and the shield KGB (transliteration of КГБ) is the Russian-language abbreviation for Committee for State Security, (Russian: ; Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti). ...

Director-General

In her first months as Director-General, Rimington was subject to a determined campaign by the British press to identify her. The New Statesman and The Independent had obtained and published covert photographs of her, despite which Rimington oversaw a (largely successful) public relations campaign to improve the openness of the Service and increase public transparency. On 16 July 1993, MI5 (with the reluctant approval of the British Government) published a 36-page booklet titled The Security Service, which revealed publicly, for the first time, details of MI5's activities, operations and duties, as well as the identity and even photographs of Riminigton as Director-General. The New Statesman is a left-of-centre political weekly published in London. ... The Independent is a British compact newspaper published by Tony OReillys Independent News & Media. ... Openness is related to open source and is a philosophy that is being used as the basis of how various groups and organizations operate. ... July 16 is the 197th day (198th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 168 days remaining. ... 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... The United Kingdom is a unitary state and a democratic constitutional monarchy. ...

Stella Rimington retired from MI5 in 1996. She was made a Dame Commander of Order of the Bath (DCB) in the New Year Honours List in 1996. Badge of a Companion of the Order of the Bath (Military Division) The Most Honourable Order of the Bath (formerly The Most Honourable Military Order of the Bath)[1] is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. ... The British honours system is a means of rewarding individuals personal bravery, achievement or service to the United Kingdom. ...

Post-MI5

Rimington's work after leaving MI5 has been as a non-executive director for companies such as Marks & Spencer and BG Group. Marks & Spencer plc (known also as M&S, Your M&S and sometimes colloquially as Marks and Sparks, Marks or Markss) is a British retailer, with several branches outside of the UK. It is one of the most widely recognised chain stores in the UK and is the largest... BG Group Plc is an energy production and distribution company which is headquartered in Reading outside London, England. ...

Rimington controversially continued her policy of openness about the Service by publishing full and frank memoirs after her retirement. In July 2004, her first novel, At Risk, about a female secret agent, was published. A second novel, Secret Asset, was published in August 2006. As a literary genre, a memoir (from the Latin memoria, meaning memory) forms a subclass of autobiography, although it is an older form of writing. ... Retirement is the point where a person stops employment. ...

In November, 2005 she spoke out against national ID cards. [1] Enabling legislation for the British national identity card was passed under the Identity Cards Act 2006 [1]. The multi-billion pound scheme [2] has yet to enter procurement. ...

Publications

Autobiography

• Rimington, Stella (2001). Open Secret: The Autobiography of the Former Director-General of MI5. London: Hutchinson. ISBN 0-09-179360-2. 

Fiction novels

• Rimington, Stella (2004). At Risk. London: Hutchinson. ISBN 0-09-179996-1. 
• Rimington, Stella (2006). Secret Asset. London: Hutchinson. ISBN 0-09-180024-2. 

References

• Rimington, Stella (2001). Open Secret: The Autobiography of the Former Director-General of MI5. London: Hutchinson. ISBN 0-09-179360-2. 
• BBC News Online: First lady of espionage, 8 September 2001.
• BBC News Online: On This Day (16 July) - 1993: Secret Service goes public.

BBC News Online logo The BBC News Website in February 2006. ... September 8 is the 251st day of the year (252nd in leap years). ... 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... BBC News Online logo The BBC News Website in February 2006. ...

External links

• The Original Stella Rimington Fansite
• 1993: Secret Service goes public ON THIS DAY bbc.co.uk