Stoltenberg appoints Arndt Freytag von Loringhoven first NATO intelligence chief
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has appointed the first head of intelligence in the history of the organization. The new head of intelligence is a former deputy head of German intelligence, Arndt Freytag von Loringhoven, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Von Loringhoven is 59 years old and currently holds the position of German Ambassador in the Czech Republic. He plans to leave this post before the end of the year.
His task in NATO is to improve the exchange of intelligence on the “build-up of Russian military power,” and he will oversee military and civilian intelligence services.
According to the Wall Street Journal’s source, von Loringhoven will receive reports on counter-intelligence operations, the purpose of which are to anticipate “Russian infiltration into the Alliance.”
Washington reportedly wanted the job to be given to an American, but currently Stoltenberg’s deputy and other assistants are US citizens, the newspaper notes.
The introduction of the new position in NATO was reported this summer and was initially proposed to improve the analysis of Russian military activity.