The Lord Evans of Weardale | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2019 | |
| Chair of theCrown Nominations Commission | |
| Assumed office 16 December 2024 | |
| Director General of MI5 | |
| In office 21 April 2007 – 22 April 2013 | |
| John Reid Jacqui Smith Alan Johnson Theresa May | |
| Preceded by | Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller |
| Succeeded by | Sir Andrew Parker |
| Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal | |
| Assumed office 9 December 2014 Life Peerage | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1958-02-17)17 February 1958 (age 67) |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | None (crossbencher) |
| Alma mater | University of Bristol |
| Occupation | Intelligence officer |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Branch/service | Security Service |
| Years of service | 1980–2013 |
| Rank | Director General |
Jonathan Douglas Evans, Baron Evans of Weardale,KCB, DL (born 17 February 1958) is a Britishlife peer who formerly served as theDirector General of the BritishSecurity Service, the United Kingdom's domestic security andcounter-intelligence service. He took over the role on the retirement of his predecessorDame Eliza Manningham-Buller on 21 April 2007. Evans was succeeded byAndrew Parker on 22 April 2013. He currently serves as the Chairman of theCrown Nominations Commission.[1]
Evans was born on 17 February 1958,[2][3] and was brought up inKent, England.[4] He was educated atSevenoaks School, then an all-boysindependent school.[2] He studiedclassics atBristol University, graduating with aBachelor of Arts (BA) degree.[2][5][6]
Evans joined the Security Service (i.e. MI5) in 1980, and initially worked incounter espionage.[7] In 1985 he moved to the protective security function, dealing with internal and personnel security, before switching to domesticcounter-terrorism in the late 1980s.[7] For more than a decade he was involved with the effort to combat the domestic threat of groups such as theProvisional IRA duringThe Troubles. In 1999, with the violence in Northern Ireland greatly reduced due to theGood Friday Agreement, Evans moved to G-Branch,[8] the section of MI5 which deals withinternational terrorism. There he became an expert onal-Qaeda[9] and other branches ofIslamic terrorism. He rose to head the section in 2001 (only a few days before theSeptember 11, 2001 attacks), a position which put him on the service's board of management. In 2005, he became Deputy Director General.[10]
In March 2007, he was announced as the nextDirector General of MI5, in succession toDame Eliza Manningham-Buller.[10] He took up the post in April 2007.[11] In November 2007, he talked publicly about the threat the UK faces from digital espionage.[12] He spoke atRUSI onNational Security in February 2008. He has a Certificate in Company Direction from theInstitute of Directors. In July 2010, the government revealed Evans received an annual salary of £159,999.[13] In September 2010, Evans said that the American citizenAnwar al-Awlaki was the West's Public Enemy No 1.[14] Al-Awlaki was killed by a U.S.drone strike on 30 September 2011.[15]
Evans was appointedKnight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in the2013 New Year Honours for services to defence, and was thereby granted the titleSir.[16] He retired from MI5 in 2013 and was succeeded as director general byAndrew Parker on 22 April 2013.[17][18]
On 21 October 2014, it was announced that he was to become alife peer, having been nominated personally by the Prime Minister "for public service".[19] He was createdBaron Evans of Weardale,ofToys Hill in theCounty of Kent, on 3 December 2014,[20] and sits in theHouse of Lords as acrossbench peer.[21] On 13 January 2015, he made hismaiden speech in the Lords during a debate on theCounter-Terrorism and Security Bill.[22] On 1 November 2018 he was appointed Chair of theCommittee on Standards in Public Life for a 5-year term.[23]
After retiring as Director General, Evans joined the Board ofHSBC Holdings as a Non-Executive Director.[24] He is also a non-executive director of Ark Data Centres,[25][26] a Distinguished Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute[27] and an Honorary Professor at the University of St Andrews.[28] From 2014 to 2015 he was a non-executive director of the National Crime Agency.[29] He has written occasionally in theSunday Times on classic cars.[30] In November 2023,The HALO Trust announced him as the new Chair of their Board of Trustees.[31]
In January 2015, he was appointed aDeputy Lieutenant (DL) to the Lord Lieutenant of Kent.[32]
On 16 December 2024, he was announced as the chair of theCrown Nominations Commission to select the nextArchbishop of Canterbury, following the resignation of Justin Welby. The chair is required to be a "communicant lay [i.e. not ordained] member of theChurch of England".[33][34]
Evans is a Christian. He was raised as aBaptist and attended theChristian Union while at university.[4] As of 2024, he is a member of theChurch of England.[33]
| Government offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Director General of MI5 2007–2013 | Succeeded by |
| Orders of precedence in the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by | Gentlemen Baron Evans of Weardale | Followed by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
