Sylvia Mayer becomes Chief of Constitutional Protection

Starting January 1, Sylvia Mayer will become the Director of the Directorate for State Protection and Intelligence Service (DSN). As already speculated in the media, the current deputy will take over the leadership of the authority after Omar Haijawi-Pirchner steps down from the position at the end of the year. She emerged from the application process as "the only candidate deemed 'highly suitable'," the Ministry of the Interior announced on Thursday.

Praise for Mayer

Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) did not hold back in praising the new top constitutional protector: "Sylvia Mayer has demonstrated extraordinary professional competence in her previous work in constitutional protection, but above all, leadership responsibility in difficult situations." She enjoys the highest regard both among Austrian experts and internationally. She also received accolades from the responsible State Secretary for State Protection Jörg Leichtfried (SPÖ) and the Director General for Public Security Franz Ruf.

Mayer has been working for the Federal Ministry of the Interior since 2006 and moved in 2012 from the executive in Linz to the then Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Counterterrorism (BVT), where she was initially involved in combating extremism and later tasked with establishing an organizational unit for the protection of critical infrastructure and cybersecurity.

In the following years, she led various organizational units in constitutional protection, including the Department for Security and Protection and the Department for Strategy, Resources, and Staff Affairs. In October 2023, she was appointed Deputy Director of the DSN.

Mayer "proud"

"The work of the Austrian constitutional protection forms the foundation for a secure coexistence in our republic. I am proud to ensure this foundation together with the employees of the DSN and the LSE (State Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Combating Extremism)," Mayer expressed her gratitude. She looks forward to "further developing" constitutional protection in the future.

In her new role as Director, Sylvia Mayer will be responsible for the strategic direction of the DSN and will drive the development of key tasks relevant to constitutional protection. Under her leadership, the DSN will continue to expand cooperation with national and international partners, strengthen modern analysis and prevention methods, and continue the structural development of the organization, it was emphasized.

Her previous role as Deputy Director and Head of Intelligence of the DSN is now vacant and will be advertised in the coming weeks. A legally defined application process is also planned here.

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.