Eliza Manningham-Buller facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
The Baroness Manningham-Buller
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Official Portrait, 2022
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| Chancellor of the Order of the Garter | |
| Assumed office 18 June 2024 |
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| Monarch | Charles III |
| Preceded by | The Duke of Abercorn |
| Director-General of MI5 | |
| In office 7 October 2002 – 8 April 2007 |
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| Home Sec. | David Blunkett Charles Clarke John Reid |
| Preceded by | Stephen Lander |
| Succeeded by | Jonathan Evans |
| Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal |
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| Assumed office 2 June 2008 Life Peerage |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
Elizabeth Lydia Manningham-Buller
14 July 1948 Northampton, England |
| Parents | Reginald Manningham-Buller, 1st Viscount Dilhorne Lady Mary Lindsay |
| Relatives | The 2nd Viscount Dilhorne (brother) The Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne (first cousin) |
| Alma mater | Northampton High School Benenden School Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford |
| Occupation | Peer |
| Profession | Intelligence Officer |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom  |
| Branch/service | MI5 |
| Years of service | 1974–2007 |
| Rank | Director General of MI5 |
| Battles/wars | Investigation of Lockerbie bombing |
| Awards | Lady Companion of the Order of the Garter Dame Commander of the Order of the Bath |
Elizabeth Lydia Manningham-Buller, Baroness Manningham-Buller (born 14 July 1948) is a retired British intelligence officer. An intelligence officer is someone who secretly gathers information to keep a country safe. She is best known for being the head of MI5, the United Kingdom's security agency.
After working as a teacher, she joined MI5 in 1974. She eventually became the Director-General, which is the top leader of MI5. In this role, she led the agency's response to the 7 July 2005 London bombings. After retiring, she became a member of the House of Lords, a part of the UK Parliament. In June 2024, King Charles III made her the Chancellor of the Order of the Garter, the first woman ever to hold this important position.
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Early Life and Family
Eliza Manningham-Buller was born in Northampton, England. Her father, Lord Dilhorne, was an important lawyer and politician. He served as the Lord Chancellor, one of the highest legal roles in Britain.
Her mother, Lady Mary Lindsay, did something amazing during World War II. She trained carrier pigeons to fly secret messages. These brave birds were dropped over France and Germany in baskets with parachutes. They would then fly back to her home carrying important information about the enemy. One of her pigeons even won the Dickin Medal, an award for animal bravery.
Manningham-Buller went to Northampton High School and Benenden School. She later studied English at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford.
Career at MI5
After teaching for three years, Manningham-Buller joined MI5 in 1974. She was recruited after someone at a party suggested she talk to the Ministry of Defence. She specialized in counter-terrorism, which means working to stop terrorist attacks.
Important Roles
One of her early important jobs was related to the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, a terrorist attack on an airplane. In the 1980s, she was also one of very few people who knew that a top Soviet spy in London, Oleg Gordievsky, was secretly working for Britain as a double agent.
In the early 1990s, she worked in Washington, D.C., sharing information with American intelligence agencies during the first Gulf War. When she returned to the UK, she became the head of a new section focused on counter-terrorism in Ireland.
Becoming Director-General
Manningham-Buller quickly moved up in MI5. In 1997, she became the Deputy Director-General. In 2002, she was appointed Director-General, the highest position in MI5. She was the second woman ever to lead the agency.
As Director-General, she was in charge during a very difficult time. Her biggest challenge was leading the country's security response to the 7 July 2005 London bombings, a series of terrorist attacks on the city's public transport.
She retired from MI5 in 2007. For her service, she was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the Bath (DCB), which is a high honor given by the monarch.
Life After MI5
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In 2008, Manningham-Buller was made a Baroness. This gave her a lifetime position in the House of Lords, where she helps make laws for the country. She is a crossbench peer, which means she does not belong to any political party.
She has held many other important roles. She was the chair of the Wellcome Trust, a major charity that funds medical research. She has also been a co-president of Chatham House, an organization that studies international issues.
In 2014, Queen Elizabeth II appointed her a Lady Companion of the Order of the Garter. This is the oldest and highest order of chivalry in Britain. In 2023, she took part in the coronation of King Charles III.
Views on Security and Freedom
Throughout her career, Manningham-Buller has spoken about the difficult balance between keeping people safe and protecting their freedoms.
The Threat of Terrorism
She has warned that the threat from terrorism is serious and long-lasting. After the September 11 attacks in the United States, she said that MI5 had to grow much larger to track all the potential threats. She believed that stopping terrorists required new laws and strong cooperation between different countries.
In 2010, she told the Iraq Inquiry that Britain's involvement in the Iraq War had made some young people angry and more likely to be drawn to terrorism.
Protecting Civil Liberties
While she believes in strong security, Manningham-Buller has also spoken up to protect civil liberties (the rights and freedoms of citizens). In 2008, she argued in the House of Lords against a government plan to hold terror suspects for 42 days without charge. She said it was not a workable plan and that it was important to find solutions that all political parties could agree on.
She has also stated that using torture to get information is wrong and should never be justified, even if it might save lives. She said that when the United States used harsh methods, it lost its "moral authority" or the right to be seen as a good and fair leader.
Coat of arms
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Order of the Bath (Appointed DCB 2005)
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See also
- List of terrorist incidents in the United Kingdom
