Quick Facts
Biography
Jean-Louis Jeanmaire (25 March 1910 in Biel/Bienne – 29 January 1992) was a brigadier in the Swiss army who passed highly classified, but rather insensitive, Swiss military secrets to the Soviet Union from 1962 up until his retirement at 65 in 1975.
Background and significant events
He was recruited as a spy by Colonel Vassily Denissenko, the Soviet air attaché.
He never accepted money for the information he passed to the Soviets; his motivation appeared to be the result of bitterness at being passed over for promotion.
He was sentenced to a prison term of eighteen years but served only twelve due to good conduct. After his release in 1988, he vigorously attempted to clear his name, and commentators continued to express doubt about the extent of his guilt.
Jeanmaire died 1992 in Bern.
Literature
- Urs Widmer: Jeanmaire: ein Stück Schweiz. Verlag der Autoren, Frankfurt am Main 1992 – ISBN 3-88661-136-1 (play)
- John le Carré: Unbearable peace. Harmondsworth 1991 – ISBN 0-14-015204-0
- Jürg Schoch: Fall Jeanmaire, Fall Schweiz. Wie Politik und Medien einen «Jahrhundertverräter» fabrizierten. «hier + jetzt», Verlag für Kultur und Geschichte, Baden 2006 – ISBN 3-03919-026-1