Slovak Information Service (Slovak:Slovenská informačná služba,SIS) is anintelligence agency of the government ofSlovakia. It was established on February 15, 1993, as a descendant of theFederálna bezpečnostná informačná služba (the domestic intelligence agency ofCzechoslovakia).
Slovenská informačná služba uses integrated intelligence model, which means it covers both domestic and foreign intelligence. Only military intelligence is covered by separate intelligence agencyVojenské spravodajstvo.
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 (Federálna bezpečnostná informačná služba (FBIS)). 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 theFederálna bezpečnostná informačná služba FBIS (the domestic intelligence agency ofCzechoslovakia), but unlike its predecessor it is also charged with foreign intelligence. Separate foreign intelligence agency as a descendant to CzechoslovakOffice 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 ofVladimír Mečiar then changed the law to give the permission to name the SIS director to itself, rather than the President of Slovakia.[2] Mečiar then namedIvan Lexa the director of SIS. Under Lexa, SIS became internationally known for numerous controversies including the kidnapping of President's son toAustria and his light torture in 1995, theAssassination of Róbert Remiáš in 1996 and many more.
On 3 May 2012 PresidentIvan Gašparovič appointed Ján Valko to the post of Slovak Intelligence Service director, after Valko was nominated by Prime MinisterRobert Fico and his candidacy was approved by the Slovak Government on 27 April 2012.[3]
On 6 July 2016, PresidentAndrej Kiska appointed Ing. Anton Šafárik to the director post.[4]
On 15 April 2020, PresidentZuzana Čaputová appointed Vladimír Pčolinský to the director post.[5] On 11 March 2021, National Crime Agency of Police force arrested director Pčolinský on charges of corruption. 3 days later Pčolinský resigned from his post as director and was removed from position, and employment of agency, by President Čaputová on 18 March 2021.[6][7]
