Dame Stella Rimington served as the Director General of MI5, the British Security Service, from 1992 to 1996. She made history as the first female Director General and the first whose name was publicly announced upon appointment. In 1993, she further broke tradition by becoming the first Director General to pose openly for photos at the launch of a brochure detailing MI5's activities, signifying a new era of transparency for the organization. She is also a British author.