verdicts. Then, in 1954 the first president of the BfV, Otto John, fled to the GDR. Shortly after that it became public that a number of employees of the BfV had been with the Gestapo during the Third Reich. Nevertheless, material on the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) was essential for banning the party by the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany in August 1956. Over the years, a number of associations and political groups were banned on the basis of materials provided by the BfV. Since 1972 the BfV is also concerned with activities of foreign nationals in Germany, especially extremists and terrorists who operate in the country or plan their activities there, such as the Kurdistan Workers' Party. One of the major intelligence failures in this field were the riots by supporters of the PKK in 1998, which the BfV missed due to the Cologne carnival. The counter-intelligence activities of the BfV were mostly directed against the East German Ministry for State Security (Stasi), another employer of ex-Gestapo agents. The MfS successfully penetrated the BfV and in a number of affairs destroyed its reputation as a counter-intelligence service by the early 1980s. In this, the MfS profited from the West German border regime which allowed any GDR citizen into the Federal Republic without restrictions. Criticism The failure to detect the activities of the 9/11 conspirators in Germany raised questions about the BfV's capability. The rise of right-wing extremism in Germany, especially in the former GDR, was also partly blamed on the failure to establish working structures there. The agency was heavily criticised for the destruction of files related to the National Socialist Underground, a neo-Nazi terror group. The scandal led to the resignation of BfV president Heinz Fromm in 2012. Presidents Otto John (1 December 1950 – 20 July 1954) (Acting) (26 July 1954 – 31 July 1955) (1 August 1955 – 30 April 1972) (1 May 1972 – 31 August 1975) (1 September 1975 – 26 April 1982) (13 May 1983 – 31 July 1985) (1 August 1985 – 1 April 1987) (9 April 1987 – 28 February 1991) (28 February 1991 – 27 July 1995) (1 August 1995 – 15 May 1996) (15 May 1996 – 10 April 2000) Heinz Fromm (1 June 2000 – 31 July 2012) Hans-Georg Maaßen (1 August 2012 – 8 November 2018) Thomas Haldenwang (November 2018 – present) See also List of