Head of MI5 and UofG alumnus recognised in King’s New Year Honours list

The newly knighted Director General of MI5 graduated from a degree at Glasgow nearly thirty years ago.

The Director General of MI5 has been knighted in the King’s New Years’ Honours list. Sir Ken McCallum, was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath “for his professionalism and dedication in keeping the country safe in such difficult times”.

Sir Ken McCallum succeeded Sir Andrew Parker to become the head of Britain’s domestic intelligence agency in 2020 and has held the position ever since. McCallum is from Glasgow and studied Mathematics at the University of Glasgow in the early-to-mid nineties, graduating in 1996 with a first-class honours degree. 

After graduation, he applied to the civil service, which led to him being asked if he would be interested in intelligence services, ultimately joining MI5.  In 2023, McCallum delivered a guest lecture at the University and was featured in the alumni spotlight series where he spoke about his time at Glasgow.

McCallum’s tenure at MI5 has seen the organisation become more public, by developing a more transparent recruitment system. The British Government didn’t recognise the existence of the agency until 1989, with Sir Ken McCallum remaining the only public member of the organisation. 

Nonetheless, recent years have seen the launch of the MI5 careers website as well as an advertising campaign encouraging people from a diverse range of backgrounds to apply to join the organisation.

In the wider University community, Professor Douglas John Paul was also recognised in the New Years Honours List, being awarded an OBE for services to quantum technologies research. As well as conducting research at the University of Glasgow, Professor Paul also serves as the Research Chair in Emerging Technologies at the Royal Society of Engineering.

Published 5 January 2025