The Bundesnachrichtendienst (Federal Intelligence Service, BND) is the foreign intelligence agency of the German government, under the control of the Bundeskanzleramt (Federal Chancellery). Its headquarters are in Pullach near Munich, and Berlin (planned to be centralised in Berlin by 2011). The BND has 200 locations in Germany and foreign countries. In 2005, the BND employed around 6,050 people, 10 % of them Bundeswehr soldiers; those are officially employed by the "Amt für Militärkunde" (Office for Military Sciences), which is just a camouflage name. The annual budget of the BND exceeds € 430,000,000. Image File history File linksMetadata BND_01. ... An intelligence agency is a governmental organization devoted to gathering of information by means of espionage, communication interception, cryptanalysis, cooperation with other institutions, and evaluation of public sources. ... Bundeskanzleramt, Berlin, Germany The Bundeskanzleramt (federal chancellory), or more common: Kanzleramt, is the administrative body of the Chancellor of Germany. ... Munich (German: München, (pronounced listen) is the capital of the German Federal State of Bavaria (German: Freistaat Bayern). ... This article is about Germanys largest city. ... The Bundeswehr ( ) (Federal Defence) is the armed forces of Germany and its administration. ... The euro (currency sign: €; banking code: EUR) is official currency in the following twelve European Union member states: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain; collectively also known as the Eurozone. ...

The domestic secret service counterpart of the BND are the Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz (Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, BfV) and 16 counterparts at the federal state level (Landesbehörden für Verfassungsschutz or State Offices for the Protection of the Constitution); there is also a separate military intelligence organisation, the Militärischer Abschirmdienst (lit. military screening service, MAD). Because of both the secrecy of secret services and the controversial nature of the issues involved, there is some difficulty in separating the definitions of secret service, secret police, intelligence agency etc. ... BfV headquarters in Cologne Verfassungsschutz (Protection of the Constitution) is the short name for Germanys federal and state-based secret services for the interior (Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz). ...

History

The predecessor of the BND is the German eastern military intelligence agency, Abteilung Fremde Heere Ost, led by General Reinhard Gehlen. Its main purpose was to collect information on the Soviet Union. In 1946 Gehlen set up an intelligence agency informally known as the Gehlen Org on behalf of US forces, and recruited many of his former co-workers. Many also were recruited from the former Sicherheitsdienst, SS and Gestapo. On 1 April 1956 the Bundesnachtendienst was created from the Gehlen Org, and was transferred to the German government. Reinhard Gehlen remained President of the BND until 1968. Reinhard Gehlen (April 3, 1902 – June 8, 1979) was a Major General in the German Wehrmacht during World War II, with the position of chief of intelligence-gathering on the Eastern Front. ... 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... Reinhard Gehlen (April 3, 1902 – June 8, 1979) was a Major General in the German Wehrmacht during World War II, with the position of chief of intelligence-gathering on the Eastern Front. ... Sicherheitsdienst (SD) sleeve insignia. ... SS or ss or Ss may be: The Schutzstaffel, a Nazi paramilitary force Steamship (SS) (ship prefix) The United States Secret Service A submarine not powered by nuclear energy (SS) (United States Navy designator), see SSN A Soviet/Russian surface-to-surface missile, as listed by NATO reporting name Shortstop... The Deaths Head emblem similar to Skull and crossbones, often used as the insignia of the Gestapo The (contraction of Geheime Staatspolizei; secret state police) was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. ... April 1 is the 91st day of the year (92nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 274 days remaining. ... 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

During the Cold War, as many as 90% of the BND's informants in East Germany were double agents run by the Stasi.[1] The Cold War was the protracted geopolitical, ideological, and economic struggle that emerged after World War II between the global superpowers of the Soviet Union and the United States, supported by their military alliance partners. ... GDR redirects here. ... A double agent pretends to spy on a target organization on behalf of a controlling organization, but in fact is loyal to the target organization. ... Logo of East Germanys Ministerium für Staatssicherheit (MfS or Stasi) / Ministry for State Security This article is about Stasi, the secret police of East Germany. ...

In 2005 a public scandal erupted (dubbed the Journalistenskandal, Journalists scandal) over revelations that the BND had in the mid 1990s placed under surveillance a number of German journalists, in an attempt to discover the source of information leaks from the BND. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Yet another scandal came to light in early 2006, when it was revealed that agents of the BND allegedly supplied targeting information to U.S. forces to facilitate the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Combatants Coalition Forces: United States United Kingdom Australia Poland Spain Japan Iraq Commanders Tommy Franks Saddam Hussein Strength 263,000 375,000 The 2003 invasion of Iraq, termed Operation Iraqi Freedom by the US administration, began on March 20. ...

The most recent scandal is one, where the BND has (partially) admitted using Journalists to spy on fellow journalists. This supposedly was done, to protect the security and authenticity (i.e. the truth) of the BND's investigations. It was quickly decided to set up an investigation committee ("Untersuchungsausschuss"), to investigate the allegations. The affair has become very heated, because if the allegations are substantiated, it would be tantamount to a violation of freedom of speech. A public demonstration Freedom of speech is the concept of being able to speak freely without censorship. ...

Structure

The Bundesnachrichtendienst is divided into 8 branches, with different operational intelligence tasks.

1. Operative Aufklärung / Human Intelligence
2. Technische Aufklärung / Signals Intelligence
3. Auswertung / Analysis
4. Steuerung und zentrale Dienstleistung / Administration
5. Organisierte Kriminalität & Internationaler Terrorismus / Organized Crime & International Terrorism
6. Technische Unterstützung / Technical Support
7. Schule des BND / BND School
8. Sicherheit / Security & Defense

HUMINT, short for HUMan INTelligence, is an intelligence gathering discipline collecting information either by interviewing or tracking a subject of investigation, or by using a combination of black techniques to gain confessions or involuntary disclosure of information. ... SIGINT stands for SIGnals INTelligence, which is intelligence-gathering by interception of signals, whether by radio interception or other means. ... Look up Analysis in Wiktionary, the free dictionary An analysis is a critical evaluation, usually made by breaking a subject (either material or intellectual) down into its constituent parts, then describing the parts and their relationship to the whole. ... Organized crime is crime carried out systematically by formal criminal organizations. ... Terrorism refers to a strategy of using violence, or threat of violence to generate fear, cause disruption, and ultimately, to bring about compliance with specific political, religious, ideological, and personal demands. ... Technical support (also tech support) is a range of services providing assistance with computer hardware, software, or other electronic or mechanical goods. ... Students in Rome, Italy. ...

Presidents of the BND

The head of the Bundesnachrichtendienst is its President. The following persons have held this office since 1956: This article or section may be confusing or unclear for some readers, and should be edited to rectify this. ... 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

• 1956 - 1968: Reinhard Gehlen
• 1968 - 1978: Gerhard Wessel
• 1979 - 1983: Dr. Klaus Kinkel
• 1983 - 1985: Eberhard Blum
• August 1985: Heribert Hellenbroich
• 1985 - 1990: Hans-Georg Wieck
• 1990 - 1996: Konrad Porzner
• 1996 - 1998: Hansjörg Geiger
• 1998 - 2005: Dr. August Hanning
• 2005 - today: Ernst Uhrlau

The President of the BND is a federal Beamter paid according to BBesO order B, B6 (to be viewed at: http://www.bmi.bund.de/cln_012/nn_122688/Internet/Content/Themen/Oeffentlicher__Dienst/Einzelseiten/Besoldung/Besoldungstabellen__West__Id__94650__de.html ) 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... Reinhard Gehlen (April 3, 1902 – June 8, 1979) was a Major General in the German Wehrmacht during World War II, with the position of chief of intelligence-gathering on the Eastern Front. ... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1978 calendar). ... Gerhard Wessel (December 24, 1913 – July 28, 2002) was President of the Federal Intelligence Bureau from May 1968 to December 1978. ... This page refers to the year 1979. ... 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Dr. Klaus Kinkel (born December 17, 1936) is a German politician (FDP). ... 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... This article is about the year. ... This article is about the year. ... This article is about the year. ... This article is about the year. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... August Hanning was the director - General of the BND (German Secret Service) from 1998 to the present day. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Ernst Uhrlau (born December 7, 1946, Germany) is the President of the German Foreign Intelligence Service (Bundesnachrichtendienst - BND). ... The German word Beamter (female: Beamtin, plural: Beamte) means civil servant, and is pronounced be-AHM-tuhr with a glottal stop between the E and A. This English translation may be ambiguous, as German law puts public employees into two classes, namely ordinary employees (Angestellte) and Beamter. ...

External links and publications

• Official website