Jonathan Evans appointed as Director general of the Security Service
Dr. John Reid, the Home Secretary, has announced that Jonathan Evans will
become the Security Service's new Director General. He will succeed
Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller on 21 April 2007 as the Service's
sixteenth Director General.
Since 2005 Jonathan Evans has served as the Security Service's Deputy
Director General. Prior to that, the main focus of his work has been on
counter-terrorism, both domestic and international. He served as the head
of international counter-terrorism investigations from 1999 to 2001, and
was appointed director of international counter-terrorism only ten days
before the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States.
Since then he has played a leading role in tackling the threat of al
Qaida and related terrorist networks.
Jonathan Evans graduated from Bristol University, where he gained a degree
in Classical Studies. On joining the Security Service in 1980 he worked on
counter-espionage investigations, before moving in 1985 to protective
security policy, advising departmental security officers on the protection
of classified information. Jonathan then worked on implementing policy
changes as part of Sir Anthony Duff's modernisation of the Service.
Since then, Jonathan's main focus has been counter terrorism, both
international and domestic. Various postings in Irish-related counter
terrorism during the late 1980s and 1990s were interspersed with a spell as
head of the Security Service's secretariat, and also two years attached
to the Home Office. During this secondment, Jonathan was closely involved
in the development and implementation of VIP security policy.
From 1999 onwards, Jonathan has been directly involved in countering the
threat from international terrorism. In 2001 he was appointed to the
Security Service's Management Board as Director of international
counter terrorism - ten days before the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade
Centre. He became Deputy Director General to Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller
in 2005 and will succeed her as Director General in April 2007.
Jonathan has a Certificate in Company Direction from the Institute of
Directors and is 49 years old.
