LONDON, March 8 (UPI) -- The British government has announced the appointment of a new chief to head its internal national security agency.
Better known as the Military Intelligence, Section 5 -- or MI5 -- Jonathan Evans replaces Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller who steps down next month. He is the former deputy director general of the intelligence organization.
Home Secretary John Reid, making the announcement in a statement in London this week, said Evans would become the organizations 16th director general.
Evans would be bringing to his new position a long experience as an expert in the counter-terrorism field, having served as head of the MI5's international counter-terrorism unit for years.
He has played a leading role in tackling terrorism and insurgency since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. He assumed his position as deputy director general to Manningham-Buller in 2005.
Evans, 49, graduated from Bristol University with a degree in classical studies. Subsequent years saw him serve in the counter-espionage investigations of the department before moving in 1985 to protective security policy and advising departmental security officers on the protection of classified information.
