MI6 Head Remembered
Sir Alex Younger, Former MI6 Head and Engaging Spymaster, Dies at 62
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Sir Alex Younger, the former chief of MI6, has died from pancreatic cancer at the age of 62, according to The Guardian. He led Britain's foreign spy agency from 2014 to 2020 and was one of the most open spymasters in the service's 116-year history.
Current MI6 director Blaise Metreweli said Younger "embodied my service's values of integrity, courage, creativity and respect." Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer called it an "exemplary life and career," while Prince William praised his "unwavering commitment to protecting this country."
From Scots Guard to MI6's Longest-Serving Modern Chief
Younger was born on July 4, 1963, in Westminster, London, into the Scottish Younger brewery family. He studied economics and computer science at St Andrews University. He then served as a captain in the Scots Guards before joining MI6 in 1991, following charity mine-clearance work in Afghanistan, The Guardian reported.
He spent roughly 30 years in the service, according to KENS5. His early spy work took him to the Balkans during the civil war of the mid-1990s, where he penetrated groups involved in genocidal activities and helped arrest and prosecute war criminals. He later served as Station Chief in Kabul after the 9/11 attacks.
Six Years as 'C': Salisbury, Brexit, and the Digital Age
Younger became the 16th Chief of MI6 — known by the codename "C" — on November 1, 2014. He served for six years, the longest of any chief in 50 years, according to KING5. His term was extended in April 2019 to keep the agency stable during Brexit negotiations.
His biggest crisis came in 2018 with the Salisbury Novichok poisonings. His evidence-led response triggered the expulsion of 153 Russian diplomats by the UK and 28 allied nations. He also pushed what he called "fourth-generation espionage" — fusing human spies with digital technology to fight threats from Russia and China.
The Spymaster Who Joked About James Bond's Emotional Intelligence
Younger was far more public-facing than his predecessors. He gave rare speeches and quipped that James Bond had made MI6 "more famous than Pepsi." But he also wrote that 007 would likely fail modern MI6 recruitment tests for lacking "emotional intelligence," The Guardian noted. He preferred the quiet integrity of John le Carré's fictional spy George Smiley.
On retiring in September 2020, Younger visited the set of the Bond film *No Time to Die*. He handed actor Daniel Craig his "C" green ink pen — a nod to the 116-year-old tradition of MI6 chiefs signing documents in green ink, started by the service's founder Sir Mansfield Cumming, WWLTV reported.
A Blunt Voice on Brexit, Russia, and Western Weakness
After leaving MI6, Younger became more outspoken. He called Brexit an act of "strategic idiocy." He warned that the UK had been "infantilised" by its reliance on the US security guarantee and needed to rediscover its own "hard power." He called for UK defence spending to rise to 3% of GDP, according to WGRZ.
Former MI6 chief Sir Richard Moore called him "the best of MI6 — high intelligence, low ego, driven... and an ace spy." Former Prime Minister David Cameron said the news "really knocked me for six." Younger is survived by his family. He was 62.
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