In politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state in exchange for allegiance to another, in a way which is considered illegitimate by the first state. More broadly, it involves abandoning a person, cause or doctrine to which one is bound by some tie, as of allegiance or duty.
This term is also applied, often pejoratively, to anyone who switches loyalty to another religion, sports team, political party, or other rival faction. In that sense, the defector is often considered a traitor by their original side.
The physical act of defection is usually in a manner which violates the laws of the nation or political entity from which the person is seeking to depart. By contrast, mere changes in citizenship, or working with allied militia, usually do not violate any law.
For example, in the 1950s, East Germans were increasingly prohibited from traveling to the western Federal Republic of Germany where they were automatically regarded as citizens according to Exclusive mandate. The Berlin Wall and fortifications along the Inner German border were erected by the Communist East German Democratic Republic in 1961 to enforce the policy. When people tried to "defect" from the GDR they were to be shot on sight. Several hundred people were killed along the border in their Republikflucht attempt. Official crossings did exist, but permissions to leave temporarily or permanently were seldom granted. On the other hand, the GDR citizenship of some "inconvenient" East Germans was revoked, and they had to leave their home on short notice against their will. Others, like singer Wolf Biermann, were prohibited from returning to the GDR.
During the Cold War, the many people illegally emigrating from the Soviet Union or Eastern Bloc to the West were called defectors. Westerners defected to the Eastern Bloc as well, often to avoid prosecution as spies. Some of the more famous cases were British spy Kim Philby, who defected to Russia to avoid exposure as a KGB mole, and 22 Allied POWs (one Briton and twenty-one Americans) who declined repatriation after the Korean War, electing to remain in China.
When the individual leaves his country and provides information to a foreign intelligence service, they are a HUMINT source defector. In some cases, defectors remain in the country or with the political entity they were against, functioning as a defector in place. Intelligence services are always concerned when debriefing defectors with the possibility of a fake defection.
Artists and athletes
Alexander Mogilny, Soviet (Russian) Hockey Player, who defected to the United States in 1988. He was the first Soviet player to defect to play in the NHL.
Aroldis Chapman, Cuban baseball pitcher, who defected to Andorra in 2009 before signing a Major League Baseball contract in 2010.
José Fernández, Cuban baseball player, who defected to the United States in 2008.
Orlando Hernandez, Cuban baseball pitcher, who defected to the United States in 1997.
Arturo Sandoval, Cuban trumpeter, pianist, and composer, who defected to the United States in 1990.
Nadia Comăneci, Romanian Olympic Gymnast, who defected to the United States in 1989.
Béla Károlyi and his wife Márta Károlyi, Romanian gymnastics coaches (of Nadia Comăneci and Mary Lou Retton among others), who defected to the United States in 1981.
Paquito D'Rivera, Cuban saxophonist and clarinetist, who defected to the United States in 1980.
Mikhail Baryshnikov, Soviet (Russian) dancer, who defected to Canada in 1974, while in Toronto, touring with the Kirov Ballet. He later moved to the United States.
Natalia Makarova, Soviet (Russian) dancer, who defected while in London in 1970.
Rudolf Nureyev, Soviet (Russian) dancer, who defected while in Paris touring with the Kirov Ballet in 1961.
George Balanchine, Russian choreographer, who defected to the Weimar Republic in 1924.
Grigory Semyonov, the leader of the White movement in Transbaikal, defected to Manchuria in China and then participated at the Bureau of Russian emigrants in the Manchurian Empire which was supervised by Imperial Japanese Army.
Igor Gouzenko, a Soviet cipher clerk who defected to Canada and released information regarding Soviet espionage activities in western society. Credited as one of the triggering factors for the beginning of the Cold War.
Genrikh Lyushkov, the NKVD chief in the Russian Far East, defected to Manchukuo in 1938 under Great Purge and then cooperated with Imperial Japanese Army.
No Kum-Sok (later Kenneth Rowe) is known for having been a lieutenant in the North Korean Air Force during the Korean War who defected to South Korea. On September 21, 1953, he flew his MiG-15 to the Kimpo Air Base in South Korea, claiming that he wanted to get away from the "red deceit" and is often associated with Operation Moolah.
Heng Samrin, a top-brass military figure in Democratic Kampuchea defected to Vietnam during the Khmer Rouge purges of the Eastern Zone after considering the fate of So Phim, his superior in command.
Riad al-Asaad, founder of the Free Syrian Army and the entire Tlass Family during the Syrian civil war
Viktor Belenko, a Soviet Air Force lieutenant who sought political asylum in the United States in 1976.
Larry Allen Abshier, the first of six American soldiers to defect to North Korea between the years 1962-1982. He died in 1983 from a heart attack while residing in Pyongyang.
Benedict Arnold‚ a colonial general who during the American Revolutionary War defected to the British Army.
Walter Polovchak, minor, defected to the United States in 1980 at 12. He and his parents moved to the United States from Soviet Ukraine in 1980 but later that year his parents decided to move back to Ukraine. He did not wish to return with them and was the subject of a five-year struggle to stay permanently. He won the right to permanent sanctuary in 1985 upon turning 18.
