Stella Rimington
DCB | |
---|---|
Born | Stella Whitehouse 13 May 1935 South London, England, UK |
Nationality | British |
Alma mater | University of Edinburgh, University of Liverpool |
Occupation(s) | Intelligence officer, author |
Spouse |
John Rimington
(m. 1963; sep. 1984) |
Children | 2 |
Espionage activity | |
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Service branch | MI5 |
Rank | Director General of MI5 |
Dame Stella Rimington
Early life
Rimington was born Stella Whitehouse in
Completing her degree in 1958, Rimington studied archive administration at the University of Liverpool, before beginning work as an archivist at the County Record Office in Worcester in 1959. In 1963, she married John Rimington and moved to London, where she successfully applied for a position at the India Office Library.[6]
In 1965, her husband was offered an overseas posting as First Secretary (Economic) for the British
India and MI5
In 1967, after two years in India, Rimington was asked to assist one of the First Secretaries at the High Commission with his office work. She agreed, and when she began, discovered that he was the representative in India of the British Security Service (MI5). Gaining her security clearance, Rimington worked in the MI5 office for nearly two years, until she and her husband returned to London in 1969, where she decided to apply for a permanent position at MI5.[6]
Between 1969 and 1990, Rimington worked in all three branches of the Security Service:
In 1989, she gave evidence in court against the Czechoslovak spy Václav Jelínek (prosecuted under his alias of "Erwin van Haarlem"), using the alias "Miss J".[8] In 1990, she was promoted to one of the Service's two Deputy Director General positions, where she oversaw MI5's move to Thames House. In December 1991, she made a visit to Moscow to make the first friendly contact between the British intelligence services and their old enemies the KGB. On her return from Russia she was told she had been promoted to Director General.[5]
Director General
In her first months as Director General, Rimington was subject to a determined campaign by the British press to identify her. The
Rimington retired from MI5 in 1996. She was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the Bath (DCB) in the 1996 New Year Honours.[9]
Her role in the service was considered a model for Dame
Post-MI5
Rimington's work after leaving MI5 has been as a non-executive director for companies such as Marks & Spencer and BG Group.[11]
Rimington published her memoirs, entitled Open Secret, in 2001. In July 2004, her first novel, At Risk, about a female intelligence officer, Liz Carlyle, was published. A series of further novels followed.[12]
In 2004, she continued her interest in
In November 2005 she spoke out against
On 5 October 2009 the BBC broadcast a statement from Rimington who claimed that certain MI5 files collected by her predecessors had been destroyed, but without clarifying whether this took place during her appointment as Director General, or as part of her later involvement with the Archives Task Force.[17]
In 2009, Rimington received an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Social Science from Nottingham Trent University in recognition of her support for openness about the work of the secret service.[18]
She was chair of the judges for the 2011
Personal life
In 1963 she married John Rimington, whom she knew from school. In 1984 they separated, with Stella retaining custody of their two daughters. They did not divorce[20] because it "seemed a faff", and in later life reconciled, living together during the covid lockdown of 2021. Rimington commented "It's a good recipe for marriage, I'd say: split up, live separately, and return to it later".[3]
Bibliography
At Risk
Rimington's first novel, At Risk, brings her knowledge of spy operations to the thriller genre. Her heroine is an MI5 intelligence officer, 34-year old Liz Carlyle, whose mission is to hunt down a terrorist cell.[21]
At Risk has received positive reviews with The Telegraph saying, "At Risk is breezily told, seldom pompous, and the plot, though every bit as hokey as you'd expect, winds its threads together very entertainingly.[22]" The acknowledgements section indicates that it was written with the help of Luke Jennings: "Huge thanks are also due to Luke Jennings whose help with the research and the writing made it all happen."[23] Some attributed the improvement in writing quality from her earlier autobiography to Jennings' involvement.[24][25][26]
Autobiography
- Rimington, Stella (2001). Open Secret: The Autobiography of the Former Director-General of MI5. London: Hutchinson. ISBN 0-09-179360-2.
Liz Carlyle Novels
- Rimington, Stella (2004). At Risk. London: Hutchinson. ISBN 0-09-179996-1.
- Rimington, Stella (2006). Secret Asset. London: Hutchinson. ISBN 0-09-180024-2.
- Rimington, Stella (2007). Illegal Action. London: Hutchinson. ISBN 978-0-09-179722-5.
- Rimington, Stella (2008). Dead Line. London: Quercus Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84724-310-2.
- Rimington, Stella (2009). Present Danger. London: Quercus Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84724-994-4.
- Rimington, Stella (2011). Rip Tide. London: Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4088-1112-2.
- Rimington, Stella (2012). The Geneva Trap. London: Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4088-3218-9.
- Rimington, Stella (2014). Close Call. London: Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4088-4104-4.
- Rimington, Stella (2016). Breaking Cover. London: Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-63286-526-7.
- Rimington, Stella (2018). The Moscow Sleepers. London: Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4088-5975-9.
Manon Tyler Novels
- Rimington, Stella (2022). The Devil's Bargain. London: Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-5266-5149-5.
- Rimington, Stella (2024). The Hidden Hand. London: Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-5266-5273-7.
See also
References
- ^ "First lady of espionage". BBC News Online (8 September). 8 September 2001. Retrieved 26 October 2008.
- ^ "1993: Secret Service goes public" (BBC News Online: On This Day (16 July)). 16 July 1993. Retrieved 26 October 2008.
- ^ a b Rimington, Stella (23 April 2022). "I fell into intelligence by chance". The Guardian (Interview). Interviewed by Michael Segalov.
- ^ "Stella attended Croslands". North West Evening Mail. 23 February 2009.
- ^ a b c "'I thought it was all amusing'". The Financial Times. 28 July 2007. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
- ^ ISBN 978-0091793609.
- ^ Cobain, Ian (24 July 2018). "'Subversive' civil servants secretly blacklisted under Thatcher". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
- ^ Maysh, Jeff (2017). The Spy With No Name. Kindle Singles. Amazon.
- ^ "No. 54255". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 December 1995. p. 3.
- ^ "Dame Stella Rimington". RSA Conference.
- ^ "BG Group deputy CEO cashes in while ex-spy chief buys". CityWire. 24 August 2001. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
- ^ Hooker, Mark T. (2009). "Spies in history and literature - British 'Insider' Spy Fiction in the Twenty-First Century: Dame Stella Rimington's Novels". Spywise. Archived from the original on 29 November 2010.
- ^ "Listening to the Past, Speaking to the Future". Archived from the original (Museums, Libraries and Archives Council) on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 8 February 2009.
- ^ "Ex MI5 chief sparks ID card row". BBC News. 17 November 2005. Retrieved 26 October 2008.
- ^ Norton-Taylor, Richard (18 October 2008). "Response to 9/11 was 'huge overreaction' - ex-MI5 chief". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
- ^ Spy chief: We risk a police state
- ^ "Book tells of MI5's secret past". BBC. 5 October 2009. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
- ^ "Dame Stella Rimington DCB". Nottingham Trent University. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
- ^ Booker prize 2011: Stella Rimington's broadside against critics was entertaining, for all the wrong reasons
- ^ Rimington, Stella (10 July 2011). "The perfect spy". Daily Telegraph (Interview). Interviewed by Sabine Durrant.
- ^ "Spooks on Stella". The Guardian. 10 June 2004. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
- ^ Leith, Sam. "An insider job". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
- ^ Stella Rimington, At Risk; Arrow, 2005, p456
- ^ Allen, Michael, quoting Sunday Times. "Rimington Revealed", Grumpy Old Bookman, 28 June 2004. Retrieved on 31 July 2022.
- ^ Barber, Lynn. "My belief is that showing emotion is a weakness", The Guardian, 4 July 2004. Retrieved on 31 July 2022.
- ^ Hensher, Philip. "Stella's good on intelligence", The Observer, 18 July 2004. Retrieved on 31 July 2022.
External links
- ABC.Net.au Stella Rimington talks about her life and writing spy fiction
- BBC.co.uk 1993: Secret Service goes public
- TrashOtron.com Stella Rimington Interview at The Agony Column Podcast with Rick Kleffel on 25 July 2008
- Official website