The heavy responsibility of the new head of British intelligence agency Richard Moore

UNEXPECTED CHOICE!

In an announcement by the British Foreign Office, Mr. Richard Peter Moore was officially appointed as the new Head of the British Intelligence Agency (MI6) from next fall, replacing Mr. Sir Alex Younger who has held this position for 6 years.

This announcement surprised many people because the person expected to be reappointed was Tom Hurd - another senior official in the British Government and a former classmate of Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Tom Hurd is a strong contender in the Home Office, in charge of security and counter-terrorism, and is also the son of former British Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd. Therefore, the question is why was Mr. Richard Moore - the person chosen at the last minute?

Portrait of new MI6 leader Richard Moore. Photo: FCO/PA

The new head of the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) Richard Moor was born on May 9, 1963 in Libya. He has a solid foundation with a BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) from Oxford University. After graduating, he won a Kennedy Scholarship for postgraduate studies at Harvard University.

A notable turning point in his career was when Mr. Moore started working at the British Intelligence Service (MI6) in 1987. During this time, he held the position of Director of a number of important departments at this agency; and was also Deputy National Security Advisor in the British Cabinet. In the period 2010 - 2012, he held the positions of Director in charge of Europe, Latin America and Globalization at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He also had a term of service in Vietnam, Pakistan and Malaysia.

During the period 2014 - 2017, Mr. Moore was the British Ambassador to Türkiye. In April 2018, he was appointed as Director of Political Affairs at the British Foreign Office. In this position, he focused on important foreign policy goals of the UK such as the Middle East - North Africa, South Asia and Afghanistan, the Western Balkans, the Eastern Mediterranean and the United Nations; international conflicts and crises and the relationship between the UK and its ally the US...

In his statement, British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab affirmed, "Mr. Moore has a strong background and will actively and effectively oversee a large workload that is particularly important for the security and prosperity of the United Kingdom."

Meanwhile, his predecessor Sir Alex Younger also assessed that Mr. Moore was an “excellent choice” to replace his position. Accordingly, Mr. Moore was praised as a person with a perfect blend of executive experience in different important roles in the British government, from intelligence operations to senior positions in the diplomatic sector or the policy planning field. Mr. Younger added that Mr. Moore is also a calm, thoughtful, dedicated and very brave person - qualities necessary for the head of MI6, especially in challenging times like the present.

Another interesting detail is that Mr. Moore still maintains a personal Twitter account as the Director of Political Affairs, British Foreign Office. He is also very active in interacting with a rather humorous style. Perhaps, this characteristic, which is considered "unusual" compared to British intelligence officials, has added points to the new head of MI6.

Headquarters of the British Intelligence Agency (MI6). Photo: Telegraph

HEAVY RESPONSIBILITY

According to observers, the appointment of a new leader of the British Intelligence Service (MI6) is part of the London government's strategy to change the face of the intelligence and security community. Looking back in April, Mr. Ken McCallum took over as Director General of the British Homeland Security Agency (MI5). Or just last Tuesday, Lindy Cameron was appointed as the new Director of the National Cyber ​​Security Center (GCHQ).

It is also worth mentioning that David Frost - Prime Minister Boris Johnson's European advisor has been appointed to take on the role of National Security Advisor. Therefore, the new Head of the British Intelligence Service (MI6) Richard Moor is expected to become an effective link in the strategy to reform all of the UK's intelligence and security agencies in the current new context.

It should be noted that MI6 is the British foreign intelligence agency, responsible for collecting intelligence information outside the UK. Its main mission today is to prevent terrorism and the activities of countries hostile to the UK, while creating an advantage for the UK in cyberspace. This mission is becoming more difficult in the context of the increasingly difficult relations between the UK and major countries such as China and Russia.

Mr. Richard Moore takes on a new position at MI6 with many challenges. Photo: Getty

For China, it is a series of issues related to Huawei or the Hong Kong special administrative region that the British government has chosen to side with its American ally. London recently announced the complete removal of Huawei (China) equipment from the 5G network as well as the country's telecommunications system from 2027; at the same time, it officially suspended the extradition treaty with Hong Kong, openly confronting Beijing.

Meanwhile, with Russia, just last week, British politicians and intelligence officials were accused of not paying close attention and failing to detect any Russian involvement and interference in the 2016 Brexit referendum. Therefore, in addition to the task of "clearing up all doubts", the new head of MI6 must also reform the entire information-gathering technology system to overcome the increasingly difficult operating conditions of secret intelligence officers abroad.

At the same time, Mr. Moore also continues to face and deal with the threats from terrorism after the self-proclaimed Islamic State lost most of its territory and its leader; or the negative consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic for the UK and the world.

The five-year term of the new MI6 leader will probably be very long with many challenges and difficulties. Photo: Reuters

Therefore, the 5-year term of the new leader Richard Moore will probably be very long with too many challenges and difficulties. The only position of MI6 that is publicly named, the position with the initials "C" will have to steer an entire team that is forced to "hide" to complete the important political tasks assigned. Because of that, many hobbies such as golfing, hiking, scuba diving, visiting historical sites or passion for Turkish porcelain of Mr. Moore will have to be temporarily put aside, at least during this particularly difficult time!.