Sir John Anthony Adye KCMG (born 24 October 1939) is a former Director of the British signals intelligence agency, GCHQ, a post he held from 1989 to 1996.
Educated at Leighton Park School and Lincoln College, Oxford,[1] Adye joined GCHQ in the mid-1960s becoming Director in 1989. He then served until 2002 as the chair of the Country Houses Association.[2] In 2005 he was appointed to the board of the US National Biometric Security Project.[2]
Adye was a witness in February 2008 at the inquest into the death of Diana Princess of Wales: in an unprecedented move (normal policy is neither to confirm nor deny operational activities), he strenuously denied that GCHQ had any involvement in either the Camillagate or Squidgygate tapes.[3]
| Government offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Sir Peter Marychurch |
Director of GCHQ 1989 - 1996 |
Succeeded by Sir David Omand |