Sir David Christopher Veness,

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

, QPM is a British former senior police officer and United Nations official. He served as Assistant Commissioner for

Specialist Operations The Specialist Operations directorate is a unit of the Metropolitan Police in London, England. It is responsible for providing specialist policing capabilities, including national security and counter-terrorism operations. As of May 2025, the Spe ...

in the Metropolitan Police from 1994 to 2005, leaving to serve as United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Safety and Security.

Early life and police career

Veness was educated at Raynes Park High School, London, and at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

, where he gained

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

and

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is a postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in another subject. In many jurisdi ...

degrees. After two years as a police cadet, he joined the Metropolitan Police in 1966, transferring to the

Criminal Investigation Department The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is the branch of a police force to which most plainclothes criminal investigation, detectives belong in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth nations. A force's CID is disti ...

in 1969, serving in various roles across London and at the Met's headquarters,

Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's London boroughs, 32 boroughs. Its name derives from the location of the original ...

. Veness trained as a negotiator in 1979, directing the Met's negotiator course from 1980 to 1987, a role which placed him on the negotiating team at the 1980

Iranian Embassy Siege The Iranian Embassy siege took place from 30 April to 5 May 1980, after a group of six armed men stormed the Embassy of Iran, London, Iranian embassy on Prince's Gate in South Kensington, London. The gunmen, Iranian Arabs campaigning for th ...

and in which he was lead negotiator in the siege of the Libyan embassy following the

murder of Yvonne Fletcher The murder of Yvonne Fletcher, a Metropolitan Police officer, occurred on 17 April 1984, when she was fatally wounded by a shot fired from the Libyan embassy on St James's Square, London, by an unknown gunman. Fletcher had been deployed to m ...

as well as advising on other incidents worldwide. Promoted to

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

in 1987, Veness went on to head the

Protection Command The Protection Command is one of the commands within the Specialist Operations directorate of London's Metropolitan Police Service. The command specialises in protective security and has two branches: Royalty and Specialist Protection (RaSP), pr ...

, responsible for the protection of royalty and politicians before assuming the role of Commander Public Order, Territorial Security and Operational Support followed by promotion to Deputy Assistant Commissioner at

in November 1991. Veness was further promoted to Assistant Commissioner, Specialist Operations on 5 April 1994. He was awarded the

Queen's Police Medal The King's Police Medal (KPM) is awarded to police in the United Kingdom for gallantry or distinguished service. It was also formerly awarded within the wider British Empire, including Commonwealth countries, most of which now have their own hono ...

in the 1994

Queen's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the King's Official Birthday, reigning monarch's official birthday in each realm by granting various individuals appointment into Order (honour), national or Dynastic order of knighthood, dy ...

, appointed Commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in the 2000 Queen's Birthday Honours, and

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

in the

2005 New Year Honours New Year Honours were granted in the United Kingdom and New Zealand at the start of 2005. Among these in the UK were knighthoods awarded to Mike Tomlinson, the educationalist; Derek Wanless, who led a review of the National Health Service; ...

. He received the

accolade The accolade (also known as dubbing, adoubement, or knighting) () was the central act in the rite of passage Ceremony, ceremonies conferring knighthood in the Middle Ages. Etymology The term ''accolade'' entered English by 1591, when Thomas ...

from Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...

United Nations

On 13 January 2005 the UN announced that Veness was to become the first

Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations An under-secretary-general of the United Nations (USG) is a senior official within the United Nations System, normally appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the secretary-general for a renewable term of four years. Under ...

for Safety and Security. He left the Met later in 2005, succeeded in his role by

Andy Hayman Andrew Christopher Hayman CBE QPM (born 1959) is a retired British police officer and author of '' The Terrorist Hunters''. Hayman held the rank of Chief Constable of Norfolk Constabulary and Assistant Commissioner for Specialist Operations ...

. Veness resigned his UN post in June 2008 after an internal investigation into a terrorist attack on

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

in which his department was heavily criticised.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Veness, David Living people People educated at Raynes Park County Grammar School Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge 20th-century Assistant Commissioners of Police of the Metropolis 21st-century Assistant Commissioners of Police of the Metropolis Knights Bachelor Commanders of the Order of the British Empire English recipients of the Queen's Police Medal Metropolitan Police recipients of the Queen's Police Medal British officials of the United Nations Year of birth missing (living people)