Eliza Manningham-Buller

The Baroness Manningham-Buller
Official Portrait, 2022
Chancellor of the Order of the Garter
Assumed office
18 June 2024
MonarchCharles III
Preceded byThe Duke of Abercorn
Director-General of MI5
In office
7 October 2002 – 8 April 2007
Home Sec.David Blunkett
Charles Clarke
John Reid
Preceded byStephen Lander
Succeeded byJonathan Evans
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
Assumed office
2 June 2008
Life Peerage
Personal details
Born
Elizabeth Lydia Manningham-Buller

(1948-07-14) 14 July 1948 (age 76)
Northampton, England
Parent(s)Reginald Manningham-Buller, 1st Viscount Dilhorne
Lady Mary Lindsay
RelativesThe 2nd Viscount Dilhorne (brother)
The Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne (first cousin)
Alma materNorthampton High School
Benenden School
Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford
OccupationPeer
ProfessionIntelligence Officer
Military service
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Branch/serviceMI5
Years of service1974–2007
RankDirector General of MI5
Battles/warsInvestigation of Lockerbie bombing
AwardsLady Companion of the Order of the Garter
Dame Commander of the Order of the Bath

Elizabeth Lydia Manningham-Buller, Baroness Manningham-Buller, LG, DCB (born 14 July 1948) is a retired British intelligence officer. She worked as a teacher for three years before joining MI5, the British internal Security Service. She led the newly created Irish counter-terrorism section from 1992 and then became director in charge of surveillance and technical operations. She became Director General of MI5 in October 2002 and, in that capacity, led the Security Service's response to the 7 July 2005 London bombings. Following her retirement in April 2007, she became a crossbench life peer in 2008.[1]

She became chair of the Conduct Committee, which is a select committee of the House of Lords, on 19 January 2022. As of 2020, she is listed as #86 in Forbes list of the World's 100 Most Powerful Women.[2] She was appointed Chancellor of the Order of the Garter by King Charles III in June 2024, becoming the first woman to hold the position.[3]

  1. ^ "House of Lords Appointments Commission – New Non-Party-Political Peers (2008)". Archived from the original on 3 September 2009. Retrieved 8 May 2008.
  2. ^ "The World's 100 Most Powerful Women". Forbes. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
  3. ^ Richard Palmer [@RoyalReporter] (13 June 2024). "The King has appointed The Baroness Manningham-Buller as Chancellor of the Order of the Garter" (Tweet) – via Twitter.