Prague, Aug 15 (CTK) – Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka inaugurated yesterday Michal Koudelka as new head of the BIS counter-intelligence to replace Jiri Lang who asked for release from the post after 13 years in early June, the Government Office has told CTK.
The government approved the change at the BIS head at the end of July.
Koudelka, born in 1965, graduated from the Czech Technical University in Prague (CVUT). He joined the secret service in 1992. He headed the BIS’s counter-espionage department for ten years.
The defence committee of the Chamber of Deputies unanimously recommended him to the head of the BIS in mid-July.
Koudelka told the committee he had never been a member of the Communist party.
He said securing the protection of the country’s population against all threat will be his priority in the new post.
Koudelka said he wants the BIS to be apolitical and professional, to strictly abide by law and to be capable of immediately reacting to the threats the Czech Republic may face.
