Ex-ambassador made head of British intelligence service MI6

LONDON – Britain’s government has appointed the Foreign Office’s political director as the new chief of the Secret Intelligence Service, or MI6.

Richard Moore, who served as British ambassador to Turkey from 2014 to 2017, was named Wednesday to succeed Alex Younger as the head of the foreign intelligence agency. .

Moore previously held senior roles in MI6, which he first joined in 1987. He has also been deputy national security adviser in the Cabinet Office and been posted in Vietnam, Pakistan and Malaysia.

“He returns to SIS with tremendous experience and will oversee the work of a group of men and women whose tireless efforts are rarely seen in public, but which are critical for the security and prosperity of the U.K.,” Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said.

Moore, a father-of-two, was born in Libya and speaks fluent Turkish. His official biography says his interests “include golf, hiking, scuba diving, Turkish carpets and porcelain, and visiting historical sites.”