Slovenská informačná služba


Slovak Information Service is an intelligence agency of the government of Slovakia. It was established on February 15, 1993 as a descendant of the Federálna bezpečnostná informačná služba.
Slovenská informačná služba uses integrated intelligence model, which means it covers both domestic and foreign intelligence. Only military intelligence is covered by separate intelligence agency Vojenské spravodajstvo.

History

Independent Slovak Republic was formed on January 1, 1993 after Czechoslovakia existence ended on 31 December 1992 and with it its domestic intelligence agency Federal Security Information Service. On legal ground Slovakia was without intelligence service in the first days of its existence. On January 21, 1993 Slovak parliament passed Act No. 46/1993 Coll., on Slovak information service, which became effective on February 15, 1993.
Slovak information service was established on February 15, 1993 as a descendant of the Federálna bezpečnostná informačná služba FBIS, but unlike it predecessor it is also charged with foreign intelligence. Separate foreign intelligence agency as a descendant to czechoslovak Office for Foreign Relations and Information of the Federal Ministry of the Interior was not created in Slovakia. Its first director was Vladimír Mitro, who two years later asked the President of Slovakia to accept his resignation. Mitro later claimed that the reason for this was huge political pressure on him, especially the command to establish surveillance of certain journalists.
The government of Vladimír Mečiar then changed the law to give the permission to name the SIS director to itself, rather than the President of Slovakia. Mečiar then named Ivan Lexa the director of SIS. Under Lexa, SIS became internationally known for numerous controversies including the kidnapping of President's son to Austria and his light torture in 1995, the Assassination of Róbert Remiáš in 1996 and many more.
On 3 May 2012 President Ivan Gašparovič appointed Ján Valko to the post of Slovak Intelligence Service director, after Valko was nominated by Prime Minister Robert Fico and his candidacy was approved by the Slovak Government on 27 April 2012.
On 6 July 2016, President Andrej Kiska appointed Ing. Anton Šafárik to the director post.

Tasks of SIS

The Slovak Information Service, as with similar agencies in other countries, serves the following purposes:
SIS also handles tasks usually reserved for the police force:
Finally, SIS is also charged with protecting the civil rights of Slovak citizens.

Directors of SIS