Established in 1830, it is the oldest intelligence service except for the Vatican's.[1] The State Security is a civilian agency under the authority of the Ministry of Justice, while the military intelligence agency, the General Information and Security Service, operates under the authority of the Ministry of Defense.[2] The current Administrator-General is Jaak Raes, after his predecessor Alain Winants occupied the position between 2006 and 2014.[3] The VSSE takes part in a number of international intelligence cooperative relationships, such as the Club de Berne and the CTG.