MMNN International News
UK’s First Female MI6 Chief Faces Scrutiny Over Grandfather’s Nazi Ties
Blaise Metreweli, who is set to become the first woman to lead the Secret Intelligence Service, was widely praised for her intelligence, discretion, and exemplary service record when her appointment was announced earlier this month. But German archives have revealed that her grandfather, Constantine Dobrowolski (right), was a Nazi collaborator and local intelligence chief in the Ukrainian region of Chernihiv, known for spying and killing on behalf of Hitler’s regime. — Picture from social media
LONDON, June 27 — The United Kingdom’s newly appointed head of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), Blaise Metreweli, has found herself at the center of controversy following revelations that her grandfather was a Nazi collaborator during World War II.
Metreweli, 47, was recently celebrated as the first woman selected to lead MI6, earning praise for her intelligence, operational expertise, and decades of dedicated service across MI6, MI5, and the Foreign Office. However, newly uncovered German wartime archives have shed light on her family’s troubled history, specifically linking her paternal grandfather, Constantine Dobrowolski, to Nazi war crimes in Ukraine.
Dobrowolski, who served as a local intelligence chief in the Chernihiv region of Ukraine, reportedly defected from the Soviet Red Army in 1941 and assisted Hitler’s forces in identifying resistance fighters and coordinating the persecution and extermination of Jewish communities. A German military report at the time praised him as “an excellent reconnaissance officer” and a “talented gang fighter.”
These historical records, though unrelated to Metreweli’s own life or actions, have raised concerns that her family background could be exploited in geopolitical information warfare—particularly by Russian media, which has consistently attempted to brand Western support for Ukraine as being aligned with neo-Nazi elements.
Professor Beka Kobakhidze of Ilia State University in Georgia noted, “This story will almost certainly be weaponized by the Kremlin to fuel its long-running propaganda campaigns.”
Despite these revelations, the UK Foreign Office has defended Metreweli, stating: “Blaise Metreweli neither knew nor met her paternal grandfather. Her commitment to British public service stems from a heritage shaped by conflict and survival, not by collaboration.”
Born to a family that fled Soviet-controlled Ukraine during World War II, Metreweli’s father was raised in the UK, adopting his stepfather’s Georgian surname. Metreweli has since risen through the ranks of Britain’s national security institutions, leading missions in both Europe and the Middle East over the past two decades.
As she prepares to take on the role of “C” — the official codename for the Chief of MI6 — her personal story underscores the moral complexities of legacy, identity, and leadership in modern intelligence work.
End of Report
Source: MMNN with agencies
