How ‘Q’ became ‘C’: Who’s the first woman to step into the shadows as MI6’s new chief
- Mark Landler
- New York TimesUpdated: Jun 17, 2025, 12:52 IST IST
James Bond may have got his first female chief back in 1995, but it took 25 years for real life with to catch up with the movie following the appointment of this career spy
“Q” will be the new “C,” and that’s the least history-making part of the British government’s announcement on Sunday that it had named Blaise Metreweli as chief of the Special Intelligence Service. Metreweli will be the first female chief of the spy agency, known as MI6, in its 116-year history.
A career member of MI6, Metreweli was most recently the director general of technology and innovation, a position commonly referred to as Q — familiar to fans of the James Bond series where he (it has always been a he) outfits 007 with weaponized wristwatches or ejector-seat-equipped Aston Martin sports cars.
