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Jonathan Evans, Baron Evans of Weardale

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The Right Honourable
The Lord Evans of Weardale
KCB DL
Official portrait, 2019
Director General of MI5
In office
21 April 2007 – 22 April 2013
Home SecretaryJohn Reid
Jacqui Smith
Alan Johnson
Theresa May
Preceded byDame Eliza Manningham-Buller
Succeeded bySir Andrew Parker
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
Incumbent
Assumed office
9 December 2014
Life Peerage
Personal details
Born (1958-02-17) 17 February 1958 (age 66)
NationalityBritish
Political partyNone (crossbencher)
Alma materUniversity of Bristol
OccupationIntelligence officer
Military service
Allegiance United Kingdom
Branch/serviceSecurity Service
Years of service1980–2013
RankDirector General

Jonathan Douglas Evans, Baron Evans of Weardale, KCB, DL (born 17 February 1958) is a British life peer who formerly served as the Director General of the British Security Service, the United Kingdom's domestic security and counter-intelligence service. He took over the role on the retirement of his predecessor Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller on 21 April 2007. Evans was succeeded by Andrew Parker on 22 April 2013.

Early life

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Evans was born on 17 February 1958,[1][2] and was brought up in Kent, England.[3] He was educated at Sevenoaks School, then an all-boys independent school.[1] He studied classics at Bristol University, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree.[1][4][5]

Career

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MI5

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Evans joined the Security Service (i.e. MI5) in 1980, and initially worked in counter espionage.[6] In 1985 he moved to the protective security function, dealing with internal and personnel security, before switching to domestic counter-terrorism in the late 1980s.[6] For more than a decade he was involved with the effort to combat the domestic threat of groups such as the Provisional IRA during The Troubles. In 1999, with the violence in Northern Ireland greatly reduced due to the Good Friday Agreement, Evans moved to G-Branch,[7] the section of MI5 which deals with international terrorism. There he became an expert on al-Qaeda[8] and other branches of Islamic terrorism. He rose to head the section in 2001 (only a few days before the September 11, 2001 attacks), a position which put him on the service's board of management. In 2005, he became Deputy Director General.[9]

In March 2007, he was announced as the next Director General of MI5, in succession to Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller.[9] He took up the post in April 2007.[10] In November 2007, he talked publicly about the threat the UK faces from digital espionage.[11] He spoke at RUSI on National Security in February 2008. He has a Certificate in Company Direction from the Institute of Directors. In July 2010, the government revealed Evans received an annual salary of £159,999.[12] In September 2010, Evans said that the American citizen Anwar al-Awlaki was the West's Public Enemy No 1.[13] Al-Awlaki was killed by a U.S. drone strike on 30 September 2011.[14]

Evans was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to defence, and was thereby granted the title Sir.[15] He retired from MI5 in 2013 and was succeeded as director general by Andrew Parker on 22 April 2013.[16][17]

House of Lords

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On 21 October 2014, it was announced that he was to become a life peer, having been nominated personally by the Prime Minister "for public service".[18] He was created Baron Evans of Weardale, of Toys Hill in the County of Kent, on 3 December 2014,[19] and sits in the House of Lords as a crossbench peer.[20] On 13 January 2015, he made his maiden speech in the Lords during a debate on the Counter-Terrorism and Security Bill.[21] On 1 November 2018 he was appointed Chair of the Committee on Standards in Public Life for a 5-year term.[22]

Post-MI5 career

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After retiring as Director General, Evans joined the Board of HSBC Holdings as a Non-Executive Director.[23] He is also a non-executive director of Ark Data Centres,[24][25] a Distinguished Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute[26] and an Honorary Professor at the University of St Andrews.[27] From 2014 to 2015 he was a non-executive director of the National Crime Agency.[28] He has written occasionally in the Sunday Times on classic cars.[29] In November 2023, The HALO Trust announced him as the new Chair of their Board of Trustees.[30]

In January 2015, he was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant (DL) to the Lord Lieutenant of Kent.[31]

On 16 December 2024, he was announced as the chair of the Crown Nominations Commission for next Archbishop of Canterbury, following the resignation of Justin Welby. The chair is required to be a "communicant lay [i.e. not ordained] member of the Church of England".[32][33]

Personal life

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Evans is a Christian. He was raised as a Baptist and attended the Christian Union while at university.[3] As of 2024, he is a member of the Church of England.[32]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Evans of Weardale, Baron, (Jonathan Douglas Evans) (born 17 Feb. 1958)". Who's Who 2025. Oxford University Press. 1 December 2024. Retrieved 21 December 2024.
  2. ^ EVANS Jonathan, World Who's Who (Europa Biographical Reference)
  3. ^ a b "Former MI5 boss Lord Evans on his Christian faith". The Profile. Premier Plus. 26 April 2024. Retrieved 21 December 2024.
  4. ^ Administrator. "Iris Online". irisonline.org.uk. Archived from the original on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
  5. ^ Andrew, Christopher (2009). The Defence of the Realm. Allen Lane. p. 806. ISBN 978-0-7139-9885-6.
  6. ^ a b Gordon Corera (7 March 2007). "From the Cold War to al-Qaeda". BBC News. Retrieved 7 March 2007.
  7. ^ Leppard, David (17 December 2006). "New MI5 boss is top expert on Al-Qaeda". The Sunday Times. London. Retrieved 7 March 2007.[dead link‍]
  8. ^ Cobain, Ian (9 January 2007). "MI5 told MPs on eve of 7/7: no imminent terror threat". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 7 March 2007.
  9. ^ a b "MI5 deputy to take over as head". BBC News. 7 March 2007. Retrieved 7 March 2007.
  10. ^ "Jonathan Evans, Baron Evans of Weardale: Director General 2007 - 13". www.mi5.gov.uk. MI5 - The Security Service. Retrieved 21 December 2024.
  11. ^ "BBC NEWS - Business - MI5 warns over China spy threat". bbc.co.uk. 2 December 2007. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
  12. ^ "Quango chiefs' salaries revealed". BBC News. 2 July 2010. Retrieved 2 July 2010.
  13. ^ Peter Johnston (17 September 2010). "Anwar al Awlaki: the new Osama bin Laden?". The Telegraph. Retrieved 30 October 2010.
  14. ^ "Islamist cleric Anwar al-Awlaki 'killed in Yemen'". BBC News. 30 September 2011. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
  15. ^ "No. 60367". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 December 2012. p. 2.
  16. ^ "Appointment of the new Director General of the Security Service". Home Office. 28 March 2013. Retrieved 24 April 2013.
  17. ^ "Director General". MI5. Retrieved 24 April 2013.
  18. ^ "Press Notice: Peerages conferred". www.gov.uk. Prime Minister's Office. 21 October 2014. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
  19. ^ "No. 61068". The London Gazette. 8 December 2014. p. 23622.
  20. ^ "Parliamentary career for Lord Evans of Weardale". members.parliament.uk. UK Parliament. Retrieved 21 December 2024.
  21. ^ Lord Evans of Weardale (13 January 2015). "Counter-Terrorism and Security Bill". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Vol. 758. United Kingdom: House of Lords. col. 690–693.
  22. ^ "Prime Minister appoints new committee chairs". Cabinet Office. 25 October 2018. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  23. ^ "BBC News - HSBC appoints ex-MI5 chief Sir Jonathan Evans to board". Bbc.co.uk. 31 May 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
  24. ^ "Ark Data Centres announces appointment of Jonathan Evans". DataCentres.com. Retrieved 16 September 2015.[permanent dead link‍]
  25. ^ Evans, Peter (29 December 2019). "Boeing sues Ark Data Centres, where former MI5 boss is a director". Sunday Times. London. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  26. ^ "Baron Evans of Weardale". RUSI. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  27. ^ "CSTPV - Jonathan Evans". St-andrews.ac.uk. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
  28. ^ "National Crime Agency - Resignation of non-executive director". nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
  29. ^ Kerbaj, Richard; Rufford, Nick (28 April 2013). "The one thing Q wouldn't give me". The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 11 November 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
  30. ^ "Jonathan Evans Joins HALO as Chairman". The HALO Trust. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
  31. ^ "No. 61120". The London Gazette. 6 February 2015. p. 1094.
  32. ^ a b "Appointment of Chairman of the Crown Nominations Commission for Canterbury: 16 December 2024". GOV.UK. Prime Minister's Office, 10 Downing Street. 16 December 2024. Retrieved 21 December 2024.
  33. ^ Martin, Francis (17 December 2024). "Lord Evans to chair Crown Nominations Commission that will choose next Archbishop of Canterbury". Church Times. Archived from the original on 21 December 2024. Retrieved 21 December 2024.
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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
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