His deputy, Branko Cvelbar, will lead the agency until the appointment of a new director, the Government Communication Office (UKOM) said.

Črnčec, who had previously served as the director of the Defence Ministry's Intelligence and Security Service, agreed to lead the agency for only a year, UKOM director Anže Logar said last week.

The replacement of the SOVA director was one of the first decisions taken by the Janez Janša government - at its inaugural session in February 2012.

Črnčec's one-year term has been tumulus for Slovenia's top spy agency, as media reported in January that he had overseen a wave of political appointments to operational posts.

The Mladina weekly reported that 25 people with ties to Janša's Democrats (SDS) had been hired by SOVA in the past year while old agents were reassigned to office duty or retired.

SOVA has denied the reports, with Črnčec telling the weekly Reporter in January that "the agency was an overly closed body in the past and a normal fluctuation of personnel in bodies is vital."