Politicians

## Sir Alex Younger [KCMG]

[Former] Chief of the Security Intelligence Agency

**Sir Alexander William Younger** [KCMG] is a career British intelligence officer for the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) who, from November 2014 to January 2020, served as the Chief of the Secret Intelligence until his resignation/retirement in order to pursue politics. In April 2019, the Government extended Younger's contract to maintain stability through the Brexit negotiations, a move which made him the longest-serving MI6 chief in 50 years.

**Military Service**

Younger was sponsored by the British Army in University. He was commissioned into the Royal Scots in 1986 as a Second-Lieutenant. As a University Candidate he was a full time student and trained in his spare time. In December 1986 he was transferred into the Scots Guards. In 1987 he started his full-time military service and later was promoted to Lieutenant. In April 1889 he was promoted to Captain and eventually transferred to the Army Reserve of Officers, ending his active military service.

**Intelligence Work**

Younger joined the Secret Intelligence Service [MI6] in 1991, a book was written about him by Richard Tomlinson. Younger eventually served in the Middle East and Afghanistan. He became head of counter-intelligence in 2009, in which he was involved in security for the London Olympics 2012. Younger became Deputy Director in 2012, before being nominated as Chief in 2014. In a leaked list of MI6 Agents, it has been revealed he was working in Vienna in 1995 and was one of the most highly paid people in the British public sector (£160,000 and £164,999).

**Politics**

During the House of Commons Chaos on January 18th, 2020 in which the coalition government in London withdrew and fell, Younger resigned/retired as Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service and emphasized the need for true leadership in London; later he would announce that he would run in the expected coming election for the Conservative Party.

Younger's politics tend to be centre-right in terms of social issues but very fiscally-conservative. He has preached continued heavy military expenditure, a more interventionist/globalist approach with foreign affairs, improve national security; including the complete prohibition of Huawei and pressure against Russia, China, and Iran. Younger has also lightly supported continued anti-terrorism laws that still protect the fundamental rights, freedoms, and liberties of British citizens. He has also sometimes voice his opinion on armed police, saying all police officers in the United Kingdom should have firearms readily available to them; this came as a surge of terrorist attacks popped up around the Metropolitan Area, ***"Our Police Officers should have access to the necessary resources to protect themselves and the public"*** and ***"With surges of extremist activity and attacks not just here but around the world, I believe Police should have firearms readily available in order to act quickly and efficiently to a threat of a mass incident. The world is an uncertain place, especially in today's age."***

**Notable Opinions**

In 2016 Younger said cyber-attacks, propaganda and subversion from hostile states pose a fundamental threat to European democracies including the UK. In a rare speech by an MI6 chief while in office, Younger did not specifically name Russia, but left no doubt that this was the target of his remarks. In December 2018, Younger raised concerns about Huawei's role in the UK's new 5G mobile network.