Anne Keast-Butler takes top job at GCHQ
The 17th director of GCHQ is the first woman to hold the post
GCHQ, the UK intelligence organisation that includes the National Cyber Security Centre, has appointed a female director for the first time in its 104-year history.
Anne Keast-Butler, currently deputy director general at MI5, will take up the new role in May, succeeding Sir Jeremy Fleming.
Sir Jeremy announced his intent to step down in January, after six years leading GCHQ.
Keast-Butler said she was "delighted" to be appointed, describing GCHQ's mission as, "as inspiring today as it was when it was founded more than 100 years ago.
"In just the last year GCHQ has contributed vital intelligence to shape the West's response to the illegal Russian invasion of Ukraine; helped disrupt terrorist plots; and worked tirelessly to tackle the ongoing threat of ransomware, the impact of which costs the UK dearly."
No stranger to the organisation, Keast-Butler worked at GCHQ on secondment for two years of her 30-year security career, as head of counter terrorism and serious organised crime.
Another secondment took her to Whitehall, where she helped to launch the National Cyber Security Programme.
"I know I am again joining a world-class team of people from diverse backgrounds with a broad range of skills, who share a singular focus on making our country safer, more secure, and more prosperous," she said.
"I am passionate about continuing to ensure that GCHQ is an organisation where everyone can perform to their very best."
While the security industry still suffers from a distinct gender divide - with women thought to represent only about a quarter of industry professionals - Keast-Butler's former colleagues were quick to stress that her appointment is not an example of positive discrimination.
One person told the BBC: "She didn't get the top post because she's a woman, she got it simply because she's bloody good at her job."
Foreign secretary James Cleverly, who announced the appointment, said Keast-Butler had an "impressive" track record, and named as an "ideal candidate to lead GCHQ."
Outgoing GCHQ director Sir Jeremy Fleming said:
"Anne's appointment is fantastic news for the organisation. I have worked with Anne for decades and think she is a brilliant choice with deep experience of intelligence and security in today's technology-driven world."
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