I am happy and honored to be invited to return to lead my service: Richard Moore
London:
Britain on Wednesday appointed its former ambassador to Turkey as the new director of the MI6 Secret Intelligence Service.
Richard Moore succeeds Alex Younger, who was a career intelligence officer and became Britain’s top spy in 2014.
Moore, who is fluent in Turkish, was Political Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Deputy National Security Advisor, and Ambassador to Ankara from 2014 to 2017.
Prior to becoming a diplomat, Moore worked for MI6 “where he took on a series of roles in the Service both in the UK and overseas,” according to his official profile.
“I am happy and honored to have been invited to return to lead my department,” Moore said in a statement.
“The SIS plays a vital role … in ensuring the security of the British and promoting British interests abroad.”
Younger identified cybersecurity as a top priority for Britain during his tenure, describing the internet as “an existential threat” to intelligence work at a rare public address in 2016.
He also raised concerns about the safety of Chinese private telecommunications giant Huawei, which Britain decided this month to phase out from its 5G network.
Foreign Minister Dominic Raab said Younger “had carefully and effectively guided the service through a time of growing and more diverse threats.”
Moore’s brief official biography says he was born in Libya and is married with two children.
“Outside of work, Richard’s interests include playing golf and watching cricket and rugby,” the biography says.
“He is fluent in Turkish.”
It does not give his age.
(Except for the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is posted from a syndicated feed.)
