This chapter provides a brief overview of the growth of the organisation from its formation until today. It includes details of the organisational structure and the institutional structure within which it is situated. The aim is to provide sufficient information for readers to orientate themselves in the context of the MUST.

BEFORE 1945

The history of the intelligence service in a Swedish context dates as far back as the fifteenth century, although intelligence and more specifically military intelligence appeared in an organised form in the early years of the previous century. In the early years of 1900 an intelligence department was created in both the army headquarters and the navy headquarters. During the period between the First and Second World War interest for intelligence decreased and it was not until 1937 that interest in intelligence surfaced again. The intelligence function within the Defence Staff grew during the early years of the Second World War. The primary task for the intelligence function during the Second World War was to detect any signs of German (or other) preparations for hostile action toward Sweden.

FROM 1945 UNTIL 1989

After the end of the Second World War the intelligence department was reorganised and renamed T-Bureau (Tekniska Kontoret – T-kontoret). The scope of its primary task changed somewhat and the focus became a ‘near-abroad perspective’, although with a clear emphasis on the Soviet bloc and the Warsaw Pact. Its organisation and the institutional position remained more or less static until the mid-1960s, when the intelligence organisation, the Information Bureau (Informations Byrån - IB), was formed.

The IB era has significantly influenced the institutional arrangements for the intelligence as well as the public recollection of Swedish intelligence. The IB became known to the public through a series of articles revealing that the IB had been used for collecting information on the political opposition within Sweden and conducting operational work, which was in sharp contrast with the Swedish government's official political agenda. The government had to investigate the circumstances surrounding the conduct of the intelligence services, and in 1974 formed the intelligence committee to do it. The committee presented its results in a public inquiry in 1976.