NAMES AND SURNAME: Peter Richer

DATE OF BIRTH: 19^th April 1952

PERSONAL INFORMATION: Married and has three daughters (one is a foster daughter).

STUDIES: Honours degree in Political Science from Rhodes University (1976) and numerous other courses over the years in everything from management studies, to sociology, to neuro-linguistic programming.

CAREER: After being forced to leave the country in 1976 Mr. Richer spent the next fifteen years in exile, as part of the ANC’s underground structures, in Botswana and Zimbabwe. In 1979 he went for intelligence training in the then East Germany and was a member of the then DIS from then until the amalgamation of the intelligence services in 1995. In 1995 he was appointed as General Manager: Research and Analysis in NIA and in 1997 became DDG:Operations. Towards the end of 1999 he chaired the committee that set out the framework for the creation of the DSO (Scorpions) and in 2000 was appointed as Head: Operational Support of the DSO. In 2001 he joined an international risk management consulting company as their Africa head. In 2003, he joined the South African Revenue Service (SARS) to establish and head its Risk Management division.

VISION FOR NIA AS DDG: “I have always believed that an intelligence service in a democracy has two critical roles in both protecting the democracy and in exemplifying democratic values. I believe NIA is poised to truly excel in both of these roles. To do this we must develop clarity of purpose so that every one of us knows exactly what needs to be done, has the skills to do it, has the tools to do it and is motivated to do what needs to be done.  NIA has much to be proud of and by building on our strengths we can become the respected protector of our constitution and our democracy.”  

SPECIAL INTERESTS AND/OR HOBBIES: A voracious reader and read widely across topics from politics, current affairs, biographies to management, health and spirituality. Mr Richer has always been into martial arts, but these days this interest is confined to Tai Chi. He also does yoga five times a week, enjoys walking, and giving and receiving Shiatsu, loves cooking, gardening and candle making and movies.