Czech foreign intelligence service gets new director

Diplomat and intelligence officer Miroslav Toman takes over as director of the Czech Republic’s foreign intelligence service, ÚZSI, on Thursday. Interior Minister Lubomír Metnar (ANO) appointed the 61-year-old after receiving government approval. Toman, most recently Czech ambassador to Bulgaria, previously held senior posts at both ÚZSI and the domestic intelligence service BIS and served as ambassador to Afghanistan and North Macedonia. He replaces Vladimír Posolda, who had headed ÚZSI since 2022. The service gathers intelligence originating abroad that is important for Czech security and the country’s foreign-policy and economic interests.