David Spedding
Secret Intelligence Service | |
|---|---|
| Service years | 1967โ1999 |
| Rank | Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service |
Sir David Rolland Spedding
Early life
David Spedding was the son of a Border Regiment lieutenant colonel,[1][2] and grew up comfortably middle class.[3] He was initially educated at Sherborne School and then read history at Hertford College, Oxford.[4]
Career
David Spedding joined the Secret Intelligence Service in 1967,[4] while a postgraduate student at Oxford.[2] He then attended the Middle East Center for Arabic Studies in Beirut, becoming a specialist on Middle East affairs.[4] He also served in Santiago and Abu Dhabi.[5]
In 1971 Spedding was named as the local SIS station commander in Lebanon, and was later posted to Abu Dhabi in 1977.[2] Following his Middle East Directorate appointment in 1983, he was made the Amman Jordan station head,[2] and was subsequently commended in that position for uncovering an Abu Nidal plan to assassinate the Queen during an upcoming Jordan visit.[6] For this he was made Commander of the Royal Victorian Order.[6]
In 1993, Spedding became Director of Requirements and Operations. In 1994 he became Chief of the Service,[4] becoming the first chief to have never served in the armed forces, and the youngest to have held the position to that date.[7] During Spedding's tenure the SIS faced some degree of negative publicity due to unauthorized disclosures in the wake of Richard Tomlinson's dismissal.[8]
Sir David Spedding died of lung cancer on 13 June 2001, aged 58.[4]
References
- ^ Woo, Elaine (16 June 2001). "Sir David Spedding; Ex-Chief of British Spy Agency". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8108-7897-6.
- ^ Woo, Elaine (16 June 2001). "Sir David Spedding; Ex-Chief of British Spy Agency". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
The son of a lieutenant colonel in the British Border Regiment, Spedding grew up in comfortably middle class surroundings. He went to Sherborne, a public school in Dorset remarkable for the fact that le Carre, the spy-thriller master, and Christopher Curwen, another future MI6 chief, also went there. At Oxford, Spedding listed as his chief interests walking, medieval history and golf. But he was a run-of-the-mill duffer, with a handicap, Adams noted, of 20.
- ^ a b c d e Obituary: Sir David Spedding Guardian, 14 June 2001
- ^ Obituary: Sir David Spedding Daily Telegraph, 14 June 2001
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4299-4576-9.
- ISBN 978-0-8108-7028-4.
- ISBN 978-1-84832-895-2.
External links
 | This article about a person involved in governance in the United Kingdom or its predecessor states is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |