Resident spy

A resident is a senior staff member working abroad of an intelligence service. This can be meant for services with appropriate staffing concrete two different activity profiles:

The second variant corresponds to the original meaning of the term; the Resident is the direct contact man of the spy. In the intelligence practice regularly, there is no other connection to the ordering service. In the relevant literature (eg, Markus Wolf) some cases are described in which the spy was misled about the principal and a resident supplied material, which he held for a representative of a completely different service - for such operations is the sole connection via the Resident essential.

Add legally covered residencies, embedded eg in embassies of the sending State in the " area of ​​operation " (ie the host country ), is referred to as a resident only of the head of the Residentur, the generally more labor -working officers of the intelligence service are assumed. The connection to the central office in the sending State is exclusively reserved for the residents, conversely, the possible connection with the Residentur is only on his table. After significance and size of the Residentur is directed to the rank of the residents who held many high management positions in the centers in eastern secret before and especially after their operations abroad in key operational areas. Residents of the KGB in the main western countries were usually the rank of general.