Director-General
In her first months as Director-General, Rimington was subject to a determined campaign by the British press to identify her. The New Statesman and The Independent had obtained and published covert photographs of her, despite which Rimington oversaw a (largely successful) public relations campaign to improve the openness of the Service and increase public transparency. On 16 July 1993, MI5 (with the reluctant approval of the British Government) published a 36-page booklet titled The Security Service, which revealed publicly, for the first time, details of MI5's activities, operations and duties, as well as the identity and even photographs of Rimington as Director-General.
Stella Rimington retired from MI5 in 1996. She was made a Dame Commander of Order of the Bath (DCB) in the New Year Honours List in 1996.
Read more about this topic: Stella Rimington