Transforming the Czech(oslovak) Foreign Intelligence Service 1990–1994

Abstract

After dissolution of the State Security (StB), which had served to keep the communists in power, a new system of intelligence services was needed as a pillar of the new democratic society. Changes in structure, policies, and personnel were accompanied by ardent disputes, mostly centering on the counterintelligence services. With the Cold War drawing to an end and the bipolar world beginning to disintegrate, intelligence work seemed redundant. Activities against countries that became Czechoslovakia’s partners after 40 years of the Cold War were halted, and ties with its patron, the State Committee for Security (KGB), were severed. The diplomatic cover that intelligence officers had used for years was now seen as unacceptable, which meant that the service suddenly lost its stations abroad. The initial period of major changes and restructuring in 1990 was followed by routine operations starting in 1990–1991, which was relatively calm and lasted until the breakup of the Czechoslovak Federation. In spring 1993, the Czech Intelligence Council was established to ensure oversight of the Intelligence Community, and the foreign intelligence service gradually improved its relations with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The first transformation stage and the factual establishment of the Office for Foreign Relations and Information were completed by passing the Act on Intelligence Services in July 1994.