The new head of the Slovak Intelligence Service (SIS) will be Jozef Magala, the Slovak Cabinet decided at its July 19 session.
According to Prime Minister Robert Fico, Magala, who has a technical education, has never before worked in the state sector.
Fico says that he has worked with Magala in the past and therefore considers his nomination to be natural in terms of the trust necessary between the premier and the SIS director, the TASR newswire wrote.
Magala is the fifth SIS director since Slovakia became an independent state. The first head of the service was Vladimir Mitro (1993-1995), who was appointed by former Slovak president Michal Kováč. Next came Ivan Lexa (1995-1998), who was appointed by the Cabinet led by former prime minister Vladimír Mečiar. Lexa's successor was Rudolf Žiak, who only held the post for a very short time. Magala's predecessor, Ladislav Pittner, was appointed by former president Rudolf Schuster on April 4, 2003, at the request of the Cabinet.
Compiled by Martina Jurinová from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
