Blaise Metreweli, the first woman to lead MI6, the British Intelligence Service (ISI), is 47 years old and has been in the world of espionage in the UK since she was 21. A self-proclaimed "technology enthusiast" and "a nerd", Metreweli has been in charge of the innovation and technology area known as Q Branch, where in James Bond movies (a fictional MI6 employee) they make cars that fly, sail, and above all, seduce women.
In the fictional world of MI6, there are only men, at least in positions that require thinking. This is partly due to the institution's culture, although in the Q Branch, there are a considerable number of women in leadership positions.
In an interview given two years ago to the Financial Times, under the pseudonym Ava, Metreweli explained one of the formulas she said she had successfully used to avoid sexual harassment from citizens of third countries as well as from her own colleagues: telling her male colleagues that she sees them as family members. "I see you as a brother. I respect you as much as my father," were some of the phrases Metreweli said she used. The results, she explained, were spectacular. Saying that "changes things in an instant. You can see it in the agent's gaze."
Metreweli, who is of Georgian origin - her name is a variation of Metreveli - has worked in the Middle East, including war zones, and speaks Arabic. She is a spy by vocation. When she was a child, she stole from her brother the Guide to Being a Spy, a children's book from the Usborne publishing house, and learned to write in code. Like many of her colleagues, she wanted to be a diplomat, but the ISI made her an offer. According to the Financial Times, Metreweli's fondness for large brooches still arouses fears among many that they may contain cameras or microphones.
MI6 has always cultivated a very special mythology, based on the alleged personal and professional skills of its officials, often recruited from Oxford and Cambridge. Its most prominent figure is also a fictional character, James Bond. The world's most famous secret agent only dealt with extremely beautiful and evil women, except for Moneypenny, until British actress Judi Dench played M, the head of MI6, from 'Golden Eye' (1995) to 'Skyfall' (2012).
With all that presence in popular culture, the announcement from Downing Street revealing the appointment uses the term MI6 and not the official name SIS, reminding that the institution's top official is known as C, and explaining that her current position is Q.
MI6 has something that makes it practically unique among spy agencies operating outside their countries' borders: its image is positive. In fact, the latest audiovisual production in which British spies come out in a negative light (Slow Horses, on Netflix, starring Gary Oldman) is set in MI5, which is the domestic security and counterintelligence service.
The two expressions, MI5 and MI6, are a reminder of World War II, when both organizations were, respectively, sections 5 and 6 of Military Intelligence (MI).