State Security Administration (Yugoslavia)

From its founding in 1946, the secret police organization originally held the name "State Security Administration". In Yugoslavia the predominant administrative language on the Federal level was the Serbo-Croatian language, and more specifically the Serbian variant thereof: therein the name was Uprava državne bezbednosti ("Управа државне безбедности" in the coequal Cyrillic script). From this was derived the acronym "UDB", or, less formally and accurately: "UDBA". "UDBA" (pronounced as a single word and not an acronym), was the most common colloquial name for the organization throughout its history.

After 20 years, in 1966, with the political downfall of its hardliner chief, Aleksandar Ranković, the organization was renamed to the "State Security Service", which (in the Serbian variant of Serbo-Croatian) is "Služba državne bezbednosti" (Служба државне безбедности), with the corresponding acronym SDB. Even though that would be its name for the remaining 28 years of Yugoslavia's existence, it never stopped being mainly known as "(the) UDBA". Even after it was (at least formally) decentralized in 1967 into 8 semi-independent organizations each answering to an individual federal entity.

UDBA formed a major part of the Yugoslav intelligence services from 1946 to 1991, and was primarily responsible for internal state security. After 1946 the UDBA underwent numerous security and intelligence changes due to topical issues at that time, including: fighting gangs; protection of the economy; Cominform/Informbiro; and bureaucratic aspirations. In 1945 and 1946, for instance, the UDBA was organized into districts. In 1950, when the administrative-territorial units were abolished as authorities,[4] the UDBA was reorganized again. During this period the intelligence and security activities concentrated less on intelligence and more on internal security. There was an emphasis on collectivism, brotherhood, social harmony, loyalty, and tolerance towards those with different views. Deviation from this set of values became an immediate issue for security services.

Later, the use of force was mitigated and when the process of "decentralization of people's power" began, intelligence and security services underwent further reorganization in order to decentralise power and increase effectiveness. At the plenum of the Central Committee in July 1966, the political leadership accused the SDB of hindering reforms towards self-administration. As a result, the SDB was decentralized, its personnel reduced (especially on the federal level) and control commissions established. New regulations were issued, strengthening the independent initiative of the state security services of the six Yugoslav republics and the autonomous provinces. The SDB was deprived of executive functions and entrusted with identifying and preventing hostile activities.[5] The Act on Internal Affairs[6] and the Decree on Organization of State Internal Affairs Secretariat regulated the intelligence security authority as the prerogative of the State Security Directorate within the Ministry of the Interior. The following reorganization addressed issues relating to the competence of the federation (state security, cross-border traffic, foreign citizens, passports, introduction and dissemination of foreign press, and federal citizenship).

Intelligence and security activity was organized in the following manner:

• After OZNA (Одељење заштите народа / Odeljenje zaštite naroda) (En:Department for the People's Protection) was abolished, intelligence activity was divided among various federal ministries: the Federal Ministry of the Interior by the State Security Administration, and the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs by the Service for Research and Documentation (SID) which collected foreign political information; military-defense intelligence was handled by the GS 2nd Department - KOS (Kontraobaveštajna služba / Контраобавештајна служба / Counterintelligence Service) of Yugoslav People's Army.
• SDB in the republics was not autonomous, but was tied to the federal service which co-ordinated the work and issued instructions.
• State security was regulated by secret legislation (secret Official Gazette), which prescribed the use of special operations. The SDB performed house searches, covert interceptions inside the premises, telecommunications interception, covert surveillance of people, and covert interception of letters and other consignments.
• Of primary interest to the SDB was domestic security; identifying and obstructing activities of the "domestic enemy" (i.e. the "bourgeois rightwing", clericalists, members of the Cominform, nationalists, and separatists). Intelligence work abroad was deemed less important and was under federal control.
• The SDB was a "political police", answerable to the party organization from which it received its guidelines and to which it reported. The SDB was so deeply rooted in the political system that one of its tasks was the preparation of "Political Security Assessments"; that is, assessments on literally all spheres of life.
• During its activity, the SDB enjoyed a wide range of power, including classical police powers (identifications, interrogations, and arrests).
• The SDB organization was constantly changing and making improvements, but it remained tied to the central unit in republic capitals and smaller working groups in the field. All information and data flowed into the central unit in the capitals and sent on from there to the users. Field groups had working contacts with the local authorities, but did not answer to them.

• OZNA
• KOS
• Eastern Bloc politics
• Operation Gvardijan
• Attempted assassination of Nikola Štedul

• Media related to State Security Administration at Wikimedia Commons

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