Andrew David Parker, Baron Parker of Minsmere, (born 8 May 1962) is a British peer and former intelligence officer who served as

Director General A director general or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals'' ) or general director is a senior executive (government), executive officer, often the chief executive offi ...

of MI5 from 2013 to 2020. He has served as Lord Chamberlain of the Household since 1 April 2021, and is a crossbench member of the House of Lords.

Education

Parker was educated at

Churchill College, Cambridge Churchill College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. It has a primary focus on science, engineering and technology, but still retains a strong interest in the arts and humanities. In 1958, a trust was establish ...

, where he studied natural sciences.

Career

Parker joined the Security Service in 1983. He was seconded to

HM Customs and Excise HM Customs and Excise (properly known as Her Majesty's Customs and Excise at the time of its dissolution) was a department of the British Government formed in 1909 by the merger of HM Customs and HM Excise; its primary responsibility was t ...

as Director Intelligence in 1999 before becoming Director, International Terrorism at the Security Service in February 2005. After leading the Security Service's response to the

7 July 2005 London bombings The 7 July 2005 London bombings, often referred to as 7/7, were a series of four coordinated suicide attacks carried out by Islamic terrorism, Islamic terrorists in London that targeted commuters travelling on Transport in London, the city's ...

and the 2006 transatlantic aircraft plot, he became Deputy Director General in 2007. Parker went on to become Director General of the Service in April 2013. As of 2015, Parker was paid a salary of between £165,000 and £169,999 by the department, making him one of the 328 most highly paid people in the British public sector at that time. In May 2018, Parker said that Russia is seeking to undermine European democracies with "malign activities". Speaking in Berlin, Parker also condemned Russia for the "reckless" poisoning of the Skripals in

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

. Russia has denied involvement in the poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia. Parker said the

Kremlin The Kremlin ( rus, Московский Кремль, r=Moskovskiy Kreml', p=ˈmɐˈskofskʲɪj krʲemlʲ, t=Moscow Kremlin) is a fortified complex in the center of Moscow founded by the Rurik dynasty. It is the best known of the kremlins (Ru ...

was taking part in "deliberate, targeted, malign activity intended to undermine our free, open and democratic societies". Parker also warned

Islamic State An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...

aspires to commit "devastating" and "more complex" attacks in Europe. In 2019, Parker, writing with Cressida Dick, the

Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis is the head of London's Metropolitan Police Service. Sir Mark Rowley was appointed to the post on 8 July 2022 after Dame Cressida Dick announced her resignation in February. The rank of Commissione ...

, suggested that

far-right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of bein ...

and

far-left terrorism Left-wing terrorism or far-left terrorism is terrorism committed with the aim of overthrowing current capitalist systems and replacing them with communist or socialist societies. Left-wing terrorism can also occur within already socialist sta ...

have been identified as key threats to the safety and prosperity of the nation. They warned that while

Islamist terrorism Islamic terrorism (also known as Islamist terrorism or radical Islamic terrorism) refers to terrorist acts with religious motivations carried out by fundamentalist militant Islamists and Islamic extremists. Incidents and fatalities fro ...

remains the largest by scale, they are also “concerned about the growing threat from other forms of violent extremism … covering a spectrum of hate-driven ideologies, including the extreme right and left.” In December 2020 it was announced that Parker would be created a crossbench

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

in the 2020 Political Peerages. He was created Baron Parker of Minsmere, ''of Minsmere in the County of Suffolk'', on 29 January 2021. The territorial designation reflects his interest in bird watching. He made his

maiden speech A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected or appointed member of a legislature or parliament. Traditions surrounding maiden speeches vary from country to country. In many Westminster system governments, there is a convention ...

on 4 March 2021 during a debate on the space industry. Parker retired from MI5 in April 2020. On 5 February 2021, Buckingham Palace announced that Lord Parker would succeed

Earl Peel Earl Peel is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The Peel family descends from Robert Peel, eldest son of a wealthy cotton merchant. The family lands, known as Drayton Manor, in the County of Stafford would become more commonly kno ...

Lord Chamberlain The Lord Chamberlain of the Household is the most senior officer of the Royal Household of the United Kingdom, supervising the departments which support and provide advice to the Sovereign of the United Kingdom while also acting as the main c ...

on 1 April 2021. The ceremonial breaking of the Lord Chamberlain’s “wand of office” during the

state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II On 8 September 2022, at 15:10 BST, Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms, and the longest-reigning British monarch, died of old age at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, at the age of 96. The Queen's death wa ...

on 19 September 2022 symbolized the formal end of Parker's service as Lord Chamberlain to the monarch before the late Queen was lowered into the Royal Vault for private interment that evening to join her

sister A sister is a woman or a girl who shares one or more parents with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to ...

, parents (

George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of I ...

and Elizabeth), and

husband A husband is a male in a marital relationship, who may also be referred to as a spouse. The rights and obligations of a husband regarding his spouse and others, and his status in the community and in law, vary between societies and cultures ...

. Parker continues to serve as Lord Chamberlain under

Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...

Personal life

Parker is married and has two children. He is an

ornithologist Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...

and avid wildlife photographer.

Honours

Parker was appointed

Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as one ...

(KCB) in the

2019 Birthday Honours The 2019 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as ...

. He was appointed as a Knight Grand Cross of the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, ...

upon appointment as

, and was made a member of the Privy Council a few days later.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, Andrew 1962 births Living people Alumni of Churchill College, Cambridge Civil servants in HM Customs and Excise Crossbench life peers Directors General of MI5 Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Life peers created by Elizabeth II