David Spedding
Sir David Rolland Spedding KCMG CVO OBE (7 March 1943 – 13 June 2001) was Head of the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) from 1994 to 1999.
David Spedding | |
|---|---|
| Born | 7 March 1943 |
| Died | 13 June 2001 (aged 58) |
| Nationality | British |
| Alma mater | Hertford College, Oxford |
| Occupation | Intelligence officer |
| Spouse | Gillian Kinnear |
| Children | Two sons |
| Awards | KCMG, CVO, OBE |
| Espionage activity | |
| Service branch | Secret Intelligence Service |
| Service years | 1967–1999 |
| Rank | Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service |
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.
- Nigel West (18 February 2014). Historical Dictionary of British Intelligence. Scarecrow Press. pp. 563–. 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.
- Obituary: Sir David Spedding Guardian, 14 June 2001
- Obituary: Sir David Spedding Daily Telegraph, 14 June 2001
- Gordon Thomas (16 February 2010). Secret Wars: One Hundred Years of British Intelligence Inside MI5 and MI6. St. Martin's Publishing Group. ISBN 978-1-4299-4576-9.
- Nigel West (2 September 2009). The A to Z of British Intelligence. Scarecrow Press. pp. 514–. ISBN 978-0-8108-7028-4.
- Nigel West (30 June 2016). At Her Majestys Secret Service: The Chiefs of Britains Intelligence Service, MI6. Pen & Sword Books. pp. 142–. ISBN 978-1-84832-895-2.
