Dame Stella Rimington, the first woman to lead MI5 as Director General, has died at age 90.

Her leadership in the 1990s helped to reform Britain’s domestic intelligence services and lay the foundation for a more transparent public profile following her retirement, during which she also published several bestselling novels and memoirs.

Her passing marks the end of an era in the evolution of UK national security and public engagement with the intelligence community. :contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0}