Sir Leonard James (Joe) Hooper (23 July 1914 – 19 February 1994) was director of the British
signals intelligence agency,
GCHQ
Government Communications Headquarters, commonly known as 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 Uni ...
, a post he held from 1965 to 1973.
Career
Educated at
Alleyn's School
Alleyn's School is a 4–18 co-educational, independent, Church of England, day school and sixth form in Dulwich, London, England. It is a registered charity and was originally part of Edward Alleyn's College of God's Gift charitable foundation ...
in South East
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
and
Worcester College, Oxford,
Hooper joined the
Government Code and Cypher School
Government Communications Headquarters, commonly known as 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 Uni ...
in August 1938, and was based at
Bletchley Park
Bletchley Park is an English country house and estate in Bletchley, Milton Keynes ( Buckinghamshire) that became the principal centre of Allied code-breaking during the Second World War. The mansion was constructed during the years followin ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
.
He stayed on with the organisation after the war, which became GCHQ, and, after five years as deputy director, served as its director from January 1965 to November 1973.
In the mid-1970s he served as the
Intelligence Co-ordinator in the Cabinet Office, where he acted as a general overseer of the UK Intelligence Community.
References
1914 births
1994 deaths
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
Directors of the Government Communications Headquarters
Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
Bletchley Park people
Alumni of Worcester College, Oxford
People educated at Alleyn's School
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