The UK appointed Anne Keast-Butler to lead GCHQ, its cyber-spying organization, as its first female director. Keast-Butler, who is now MI5’s deputy director general, will start in her new position in May, according to a statement released on Tuesday by GCHQ.

Anne Keast-Butler will succeed departing director Sir Jeremy Fleming, who held the position for six years before announcing his intention to leave in January.

Anne Keast-Butler thanked Sir Jeremy Fleming for his vision and dedication.

Sir Jeremy Fleming said, “I have worked with Anne for decades and think she is a brilliant choice with deep experience of intelligence and security in today’s technology-driven world”.

GCHQ said, “Her hiring coincides with a delicate period in which the US and its partners must deal with the effects of a number of intelligence leaks that have recently surfaced online. She brings 30 years of national security experience to the position, and most recently oversaw operational, investigative, and protective security operations at MI5”.

Ms. Keast-Butler was hailed by Foreign Secretary James Cleverly as the right candidate to run GCHQ.

Ms. Keast-Butler, according to Mr. Cleverly, “has a remarkable track record at the core of the UK’s national security network, helping to address dangers presented by terrorists, cyber-criminals, and malicious foreign powers”.

Cabinet Secretary Simon Case presided over the hiring process, which was conducted with the approval of the prime minister.

Keast-Butler stated that the intelligence service’s goal to keep the Nation safe is as motivating now as it was more than 100 years ago.

Keast-Butler provided some insight into the work she will be doing at the British government’s ‘listening post’, stating that the agency has “contributed vital intelligence to shape the West’s response to the illegal Russian invasion of Ukraine; helped disrupt terrorist plots; and worked tirelessly to tackle the ongoing threat of ransomware, the impact of which costs the UK dearly” in the past year.

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