NEW NBU DIRECTOR FINALLY APPOINTED

C O N F I D E N T I A L BRATISLAVA 000102

SIPDIS


E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/29/2014
TAGS: PGOV PINR LO NBU
SUBJECT: NEW NBU DIRECTOR FINALLY APPOINTED

REF: BRATISLAVA 03 1079

CLASSIFIED BY: AMB. RONALD WEISER FOR REASONS 1.4 B AND D


1. (C) AFTER MONTHS OF COALITION WRANGLING, THE SLOVAK
CABINET APPOINTED AUREL UGOR AS DIRECTOR OF THE NATIONAL
SECURITY OFFICE (NBU) ON JANUARY 28. PRIOR TO THIS
APPOINTMENT, UGOR WORKED IN THE MILITARY INTELLIGENCE SERVICE
(VSS),SERVING AS THE DIRECTOR OF THE FIRST DEPARTMENT SINCE
OCTOBER 2003. THERE HAS BEEN SOME CONFUSION IN THE PRESS AS
TO WHICH BRANCH OF MILITARY INTELLIGENCE HE WORKED FOR, BUT
THE SLOVAK INFORMATION SERVICE AND THE MILITARY DEFENSIVE
INTELLIGENCE SERVICE (VOS) CONFIRMED TO EMBOFF THAT UGOR WAS
EMPLOYED BY THE VSS. UGOR TOLD THE PRESS THAT HE INTENDS TO
CONCENTRATE ON THE LAW ON CLASSIFIED INFORMATION AND WHO WILL
HAVE ACCESS TO IT. HE PLANS TO MEET WITH HIS COUNTERPARTS
FROM THE OTHER INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES SOON.


2. (C) UGOR'S NOMINATION CAME AS A SURPRISE TO EVERYONE WHO
HAS BEEN WATCHING THE NBU. THERE WAS ONE PRESS PIECE A WEEK
AGO THAT MENTIONED UGOR AND HIS NAME RESURFACED ONLY A DAY
BEFORE THE CABINET MET TO APPROVE HIS NOMINATION. ACCORDING
TO LOCAL PRESS, ANO PROPOSED UGOR AS THE NEW DIRECTOR, BUT HE
DOES NOT KNOW ANO CHAIRMAN PAVOL RUSKO. UGOR WAS SUPPORTED
BY IVETA HENZELYOVA, AN ANO DEPUTY FROM KOSICE WHO HAS
REFUSED TO COMMENT ON HOW SHE KNOWS UGOR. (NOTE: HENZELYOVA
DOES SIT ON THE SIS OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE.) A LOCAL NEWSPAPER
REPORTED THAT ANO HAD APPROACHED SEVERAL OTHER NBU EMPLOYEES
OFFERING TO SUPPORT A BID FOR THE DIRECTOR POSITION IN RETURN
FOR GRANTING SECURITY CLEARANCES TO ANO LOYALISTS. GIVEN HIS
RELATIVELY LOW LEVEL POSITION AT THE VSS, EMBOFFS HAVE NOT
YET MET UGOR.


3. (U) ACCORDING TO PRESS ACCOUNTS, UGOR WAS BORN IN 1966 IN
PRESOV. HE STUDIED AT THE HIGHER MILITARY ACADEMY IN
VYSKOVA, IN THE DEPARTMENT OF MILITARY ECONOMICS, GRADUATING
IN 1990. HE ALSO COMPLETED POST-GRADUATE STUDIES,
SPECIALIZING IN INTELLIGENCE. HE WAS NEVER A MEMBER OF THE
COMMUNIST PARTY. UPON GRADUATION, HE BEGAN WORKING IN THE
MINISTRY OF DEFENSE IN MILITARY INTELLIGENCE. ACCORDING TO
THE PRESS, HE HAS A TOP SECRET CLEARANCE AS WELL AS A NATO
CLEARANCE. HE HOLDS THE RANK OF COLONEL. UGOR SPEAKS
ENGLISH AND RUSSIAN. HE IS MARRIED WITH ONE CHILD.


4. (C) COMMENT: THERE HAVE BEEN ONLY RUMORS AS TO WHY UGOR
WAS SELECTED. CHRISTIAN DEMOCRAT PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE
FRANTISEK MIKLOSKO TOLD EMBOFF THAT PRIME MINISTER DZURINDA
HAD AGREED TO SUPPORT CANDIDATES BACKED BY COALITION
PARTNERS, AS LONG AS THERE WOULD BE SPACES FOR SDKU LOYALISTS
IN THEIR INSTITUTIONS. IN ADDITION, DZURINDA SOUGHT
ASSURANCES FROM KDH THAT FORMER NBU DIRECTOR MOJZIS WOULD NOT
WORK FOR VLADIMIR PALKO AT THE MINISTRY OF INTERIOR.
ACCORDING TO PRESS ACCOUNTS AND MOJZIS, HE WILL WORK AT THE
MOI AFTER HE COMPLETES HIS COMPULSORY MILITARY SERVICE AT THE
END OF FEBRUARY. MOJZIS IS SUPPOSED TO WORK IN A SMALL
ANALYTICAL GROUP UNDER THE AUSPICES OF JOZEF SATEK'S NEW
ANTI-CORRUPTION UNIT. IF MOJZIS WORKS FOR SATEK, ANOTHER
POWER STRUGGLE BETWEEN DZURINDA AND THE KDH IS CERTAIN TO
ERUPT.
WEISER

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