Sir Richard Dearlove served as chief (“C”) of the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) from August 1999 until his retirement in July 2004. A spymaster for 38 years, Sir Richard served in Nairobi, Prague, Paris, Geneva, and Washington, as well as in a number of key London-based posts.

Sir Richard was elected master of Pembroke College, Cambridge, in 2004. (Founded in 1347, Pembroke is the university’s third-oldest college.) He has just stepped down as chair of the board of trustees to the University of London, having held the role for 10 years. He was formerly a  trustee of Kent School (Connecticut) and an honorary fellow of Queens’ College Cambridge. Until very recently, he was chair of Ascot Underwriting, a director of the Ascot Group, and a director of Kosmos Energy. He is now an advisor to several international companies and is co-host to One Decision, the world’s leading foreign-affairs podcast.

Sir Richard is married to Lady Rosalind. They have two sons and a daughter.