Anne Louise Keast-Butler is the Director of

GCHQ Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) is an intelligence and security organisation responsible for providing signals intelligence (SIGINT) and information assurance (IA) to the government and armed forces of the United Kingdom. Primar ...

, the UK's Intelligence, Cyber and Security Agency. Appointed in May 2023, she is the seventeenth person to hold the role and succeeded Sir Jeremy Fleming.

Career

Keast-Butler joined

from

MI5 MI5 ( Military Intelligence, Section 5), officially the Security Service, is the United Kingdom's domestic counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), Gov ...

, where she was Deputy Director General, responsible for

's operational, investigative and protective security work. This has included

's – and the allies' – preparation for and response to the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

. In her previous Director General role, Keast-Butler was Director General Strategy, leading the enabling functions that support

’s operational activities. Prior to this, Keast-Butler spent two years on secondment to GCHQ as Head of Counter Terrorism and Serious Organised Crime and has also spent part of the last decade on secondment in Whitehall. Whilst there, she helped to launch the National Cyber Security Programme. She was appointed Honorary Colonel Joint Service Signal Unit (Reserves) on 1 December 2024, with a commission as local

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

for the duration of the appointment.

Personal life

Keast-Butler grew up in Cambridge. Her father was a consultant ophthalmologist with academic roles at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. She earned a degree in mathematics from

Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 126 ...

. She is married, with three children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keast-Butler, Anne Living people Directors of the Government Communications Headquarters MI5 personnel Alumni of Merton College, Oxford People from Cambridge Year of birth missing (living people)