Sir Alex Younger is the sixteenth Chief of SIS and the only serving member of the Service officially named in public. And like every Chief since the very first, within the service, Sir Alex is simply known as “C” and writes only in green pen. Since taking up his post in November 2014, C is at the helm of all operations globally. Held accountable by the Foreign Secretary, his vision and overarching aim is for SIS to remain as one of the foremost intelligence agencies in the world.

Before joining SIS, Sir Alex began his career as an officer in the British Army. An economics graduate, he joined SIS in 1991 and has been an operational officer for the Service ever since. From a wide range of roles in London, where he led counter terrorism operations in the lead up to the 2012 Olympic Games, to postings overseas where he was the Senior SIS Officer in Afghanistan – his work, like that of all our officers and agents, has helped make SIS the outstanding organisation it is today.