Andrew Parker, Baron Parker of Minsmere

The Lord Parker of Minsmere
The Right Honourable; The Lord Parker of Minsmere; KCB
Member of the House of Lords; Lord Temporal
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 9 February 2021; Life peerage
Personal details
Born	1962 (age 58–59)
Nationality	British
Children	2
Alma mater	University of Cambridge
Occupation	Intelligence officer
Title	Espionage activity
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service branch	Security Service
Service years	1983–2020
Rank	Director General

Andrew David Parker, Baron Parker of Minsmere, KCB (born 1962) is a former British intelligence officer who served as Director General of MI5 (the Security Service, which is the United Kingdom's domestic security and counter-intelligence agency) from 2013 to 2020.

Biography

Parker was educated at Churchill College, Cambridge where he studied natural sciences.[1] He joined the Security Service in 1983.[2] He was seconded to HM Customs and Excise as Director Intelligence in 1999 before becoming Director, International Terrorism at the Security Service in February 2005.[3] After leading the Security Service's response to the 7 July 2005 London bombings and the 2006 transatlantic aircraft plot, he became Deputy Director General in 2007.[2]

Parker went on to become Director General of the Service in April 2013. As of 2015, Parker was paid a salary of between £165,000 and £169,999 by the department, making him one of the 328 most highly paid people in the British public sector at that time.[4]

In May 2018 Parker said that Russia is seeking to undermine European democracies with "malign activities". Speaking in Berlin, Parker also condemned Russia for the "reckless" poisoning of the Skripals in Salisbury. Russia has denied involvement in the poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia. Parker also warned Islamic State aspires to commit "devastating" and "more complex" attacks in Europe. Parker said the Kremlin was taking part in "deliberate, targeted, malign activity intended to undermine our free, open and democratic societies".[5]

In 2019 Parker, writing with Cressida Dick, the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, suggested that far-right and far-left terrorism have been identified as key threats to the safety and prosperity of the nation. They warned that while Islamist terrorism remains the largest by scale, they are also “concerned about the growing threat from other forms of violent extremism … covering a spectrum of hate-driven ideologies, including the extreme right and left.”[6]

In December 2020 it was announced that Parker would be created a crossbench life peer in the 2020 Political Peerages.[7] He was created Baron Parker of Minsmere, of Minsmere in the County of Suffolk on 29 January 2021. The territorial designation reflects his interest in bird watching.[8]

On 5 February 2021, Buckingham Palace announced that Lord Parker would succeed Lord Peel as Lord Chamberlain on 1 April 2021.[9]

Honours

Parker was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in the 2019 Birthday Honours.[10]

References

Sengupta, Kim (28 March 2013). "Meet the real-life spymaster: Andrew Parker announced as new director general of MI5". The Independent. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
"Andrew Parker named as new head of MI5". BBC News. 28 March 2013. Retrieved 28 March 2013.
"Director General". MI5. Retrieved 24 April 2013.
"Senior officials 'high earners' salaries as at 30 September 2015". gov.uk. 17 December 2015. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
"MI5 chief: Russia trying to undermine European democracies". BBC News. 14 May 2018. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
Jacobson, Seth (29 March 2019). "Far-right terrorism threat is growing, say MI5 and police chiefs of the nation". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
"Political Peerages 2020". GOV.UK. 22 December 2020. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
"So who is the Queen's new Lord Chamberlain?". The Telegraph. 5 February 2021. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
Kirsty.Oram (2021-02-05). "Lord Parker of Minsmere KCB appointed as Lord Chamberlain". The Royal Family. Retrieved 2021-02-06.
"No. 62666". The London Gazette (Supplement). 8 June 2019. p. B3.

Government offices
Preceded by Sir Jonathan Evans	Director General of MI5 2013–2020	Followed by Ken McCallum

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[1] Sengupta, Kim (28 March 2013). "Meet the real-life spymaster: Andrew Parker announced as new director general of MI5". The Independent. Retrieved 25 February 2020.

[BBC-2] "Andrew Parker named as new head of MI5". BBC News. 28 March 2013. Retrieved 28 March 2013.

[MI5-3] "Director General". MI5. Retrieved 24 April 2013.

[4] "Senior officials 'high earners' salaries as at 30 September 2015". gov.uk. 17 December 2015. Retrieved 13 March 2016.

[5] "MI5 chief: Russia trying to undermine European democracies". BBC News. 14 May 2018. Retrieved 29 March 2019.

[6] Jacobson, Seth (29 March 2019). "Far-right terrorism threat is growing, say MI5 and police chiefs of the nation". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 March 2019.

[7] "Political Peerages 2020". GOV.UK. 22 December 2020. Retrieved 23 December 2020.

[8] "So who is the Queen's new Lord Chamberlain?". The Telegraph. 5 February 2021. Retrieved 7 February 2021.

[9] Kirsty.Oram (2021-02-05). "Lord Parker of Minsmere KCB appointed as Lord Chamberlain". The Royal Family. Retrieved 2021-02-06.

[10] "No. 62666". The London Gazette (Supplement). 8 June 2019. p. B3.