By William James
LONDON (Reuters) -Stella Rimington, the first female director general of Britain’s MI5 security and counter-intelligence service who ushered in an era of greater transparency at the agency, has died aged 90.
Rimington, who ran the domestic security agency between 1992 and 1996, was its first head to be publicly named and later wrote a memoir “Open Secret” about her career at the formerly secretive organisation.
She went on to write a series of espionage novels and is also widely thought to have inspired actor Judy Dench’s tough but playful characterisation of the fictional spymaster ‘M’ in several James Bond movies.
“She died surrounded by her beloved family and dogs and determinedly held on to the life she loved until her last breath,” a family statement quoted by local media said.
Rimington was given one of the British state’s highest honours when she was made a dame in 1996.
She joined MI5 in 1969 and worked in roles including counter-subversion and counter-terrorism. Under her leadership MI5 took a more prominent role in Britain’s fight against Irish republican militants, according to a profile on the MI5 website.
“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,” current MI5 Director General Ken McCallum said in a statement.
She committed the agency to a more transparent approach to its work, softening its post-Cold War image.
“We are, of course, obliged to keep information secret in order to be effective, this is not to say that we should necessarily be a wholly secret organisation,” she said in a publicly broadcast 1994 lecture.
“Secrecy is not imposed for its own sake. It is not an end in itself.”
Foreshadowing her later literary career, Rimington opened that same speech with a nod to the British spy novel tradition and the fascination with the security services it had inspired among the general public.
“It is exciting stuff and has led to the creation of many myths – and some lurid speculation – about our work. I must admit that it is with some hesitation that I set out tonight to shed some daylight,” she said.
“I have a sneaking feeling that the fiction may turn out to be more fun than the reality.”
(Reporting by William James; Editing by Sandra Maler)
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