Urząd Ochrony Państwa
Urząd Ochrony Państwa or UOP was the intelligence agency of Poland from 1990 to 2002, when it was split into two new agencies.Foundation
The UOP was founded on April 6, 1990, as a department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Krzysztof Kozłowski served as the UOP's first chief from 1990 to 1992. In 1996 UOP was transformed into a separate government agency under the supervision of the Prime Minister. It was responsible for intelligence, counter-intelligence and government electronic security, including telephone wiretaps.Reasons for formation
The UOP replaced the communist-era Służba Bezpieczeństwa, I Departament People's Republic of Poland Ministry of Internal Affairs – intelligence, II Departament People's Republic of Poland Ministry of Internal Affairs – counter-intelligence, whose responsibilities had additionally included the suppression of opposition to the government prior to 1989.Agency split
In June 2002, the agency was split into two separate entities – Agencja Bezpieczeństwa Wewnętrznego, which deals with internal security of the country, and Agencja Wywiadu, which deals with foreign intelligence.UOP Chiefs
