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| Directorate of Police and General Safety Direcția Poliției și Siguranței Generale | |
|---|---|
 Middle coat of arms of the Kingdom of Romania, used by state authorities. | |
| Common name | Siguranța Statului |
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | March 25, 1908 |
| Dissolved | 30 August 1948 |
| Superseding agency | Department of State Security |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| National agency | ROU |
| Operations jurisdiction | ROU |
| General nature | |
| Operational structure | |
| Headquarters | Bucharest |
| Parent agency | Ministry of Administration and Interior |
Siguranța was the generic name for the successivesecret police services in theKingdom of Romania. The official title of the organization changed throughout its history, with names includingDirectorate of the Police and General Safety (Romanian:Direcția Poliției și Siguranței Generale), theSecret Intelligence Service (Romanian:Serviciul Secret de Informații), theSpecial Intelligence Service (Romanian:Serviciul Special de Informații) or simply theIntelligence Service (Romanian:Serviciul de Informații),
Created in 1908, in the aftermath of amajor peasant revolt, it acted as a political police, monitoring, infiltrating and trying to dismantle political groupings considered undesirable by the government. Changing its structure several times during the first half of the 20th century, it was disbanded in 1948, when Romania became apeople's republic. Siguranța's role, as well as many of its employees, were integrated into the newly foundedDepartment of State Security ("Securitate").
Around 1924, Siguranța secret intelligence assassinated a leader of the militant wing of theRomanian Communist Party. The victim was also the brother of dedicated CommunistElizaveta Zarubina, soon to become one of theUSSR's most crucial agents. A secret policeman came to her apartment inBucharest later the same year to arrest her; he was subsequently shot by Zarubina, attracting the attention of top Soviet intelligence officials.[1]