Germany's secret service, directly under the control of the chancellor's office. Based in Pullach near Munich, its special task is the collection and exploitation of secret political, military, economic, scientific, and technical information from other countries. It developed from Operation Gehlen, and was given the name Bundesnachrichtendienst in 1956. Since 1992 it actively cooperates with the Russian secret service in the fight against international drug criminality and terrorism.
The following persons have held this office since 1956:| Presidents of the Bundesnachrichtendienstes (BND) | |||||
| Name (lived) | Beginning of service | End of service | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Reinhard Gehlen (1902 – 1979) | 1 April 1956 | 30 April 1968 | ||
| 2 | Gerhard Wessel (1913 – 2002) | 1 May 1968 | 31 December 1978 | ||
| 3 | Klaus Kinkel (b. 1936) | 1 January 1979 | 26 December 1982 | ||
| 4 | Eberhard Blum (1919 – 2003) | 27 December 1982 | 31 July 1985 | ||
| 5 | Heribert Hellenbroich (b. 1937) | 1 August 1985 | 27 August 1985 | ||
| 6 | Hans-Georg Wieck (b. 1928) | 4 September 1985 | 2 October 1990 | ||
| 7 | Konrad Porzner (b. 1935) | 3 October 1990 | 31 March 1996 | ||
| 8 | Gerhard Güllich (b. 1937) (interim) | 1 April 1996 | 4 June 1996 | ||
| 9 | Hansjörg Geiger (b. 1942) | 4 June 1996 | 17 December 1998 | ||
| 10 | August Hanning (b. 1946) | 17 December 1998 | 30 November 2005 | ||
| 11 | Ernst Uhrlau (b. 1907) | 24 May 1957 | 1967 | ||
| 2 | Horst Wendland (1912– 1968) | 8 October 1968 (suicide) | |||
| 3 | Dieter Blötz (1931– 1987) | 4 May 1970 | August 1979 | ||
| 4 | Norbert Klusak (1936– 1986) | 1 April 1980 | 27 February 1986 | ||
| 5 | Paul Münstermann (b. 1932) | 1986 | 27 August 1994 | ||
| 6 | Gerhard Güllich (b. 1937) (interim) | 1994 | 1996 | ||
| 7 | Rainer Kesselring | 18 June 1996 | |||
| 8 | Rudolf Adam (b. 1944), military affairs VP | December 2003 | 2005 | ||
| 10 | Rüdiger von Fritsch-Seerhausen | 1 May 2004 | |||
| 11 | Georg Freiherr von Brandis (b. | ||||
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