Bundesgrenzschutz

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Federal Border Guard Bundesgrenzschutz
BGS Federal Eagle (Bundesadler) worn from 1976 until 2001
Abbreviation	BGS
Agency overview
Formed	March 16, 1951 (renamed to Bundespolizei on 1 July 2005)
Superseding agency	Federal Police
Employees	16,414 (1956) 38,000 (1999)
Annual budget	DM 376 million (1970) € 1.942 billion (2004)
Jurisdictional structure
Federal agency	Germany
Operations jurisdiction	Germany
General nature	Federal law enforcement Gendarmerie
Specialist jurisdiction	National border patrol, security, and integrity.
Operational structure
Parent agency	Federal Ministry of the Interior
Notables
People	Anton Grasser, for first inspector Udo Burkholder, for last inspector

Bundesgrenzschutz (German: [ˌbʊndəsˈɡʁɛnt͡sʃʊt͡s] ^ⓘ, BGS; English: Federal Border Guard) is the former name of the German Bundespolizei (Federal Police). Established on 16 March 1951 as a subordinate agency of the Federal Ministry of the Interior, the BGS originally was primarily focused on protecting the West German borders. During their early days, BGS units had military structures, training and equipment. The law enforcement officers legally had military combatant status until 1994. A major part of the early BGS personnel joined the newly founded German Armed Forces (Bundeswehr) in 1956 and thus significantly contributed to West Germany's rearmament. The BGS was renamed to Bundespolizei on 1 July 2005. The change of name did not have any effect on the legal status or competencies of the agency, but rather reflects its transition to a multi-faceted police agency with control over border, railway and air security.