Erich Mielke, the Stasi's longest-serving chief, controlled the organisation from 1957 to 1989 32 of the 40 years of the GDR's existence. The HVA, under the leadership of Markus Wolf from 1952 to 1986, gained a reputation as one of the most effective intelligence agencies of the Cold War.

After the German reunification of 1989 through 1991, some former Stasi officials were prosecuted