German Chancellor Olaf Scholz appoints Boris Pistorius as new defence minister

BERLIN - Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Tuesday confirmed the appointment of Social Democrat (SPD) politician Boris Pistorius as Germany’s new defence minister and said he was the right person for the job at a crucial time.

“Pistorius is an extremely experienced politician who has administrative experience, has been involved in security policy for years and, with his competence, assertiveness and big heart, is exactly the right person to lead the Bundeswehr (armed forces) through this era of change,” Mr Scholz said.

The 62-year-old is a veteran Social Democrat who has served as the interior minister for the state of Lower Saxony since 2013. While Mr Pistorius has never held a position in the federal government, he is seen as a pragmatic, hands-on policymaker who gets things done. He served in the Bundeswehr, Germany’s armed forces, in 1980-81 as part of his compulsory military service.

Mr Pistorius, who will be the first man in the office in a decade, takes on the defence portfolio at a crucial time. Germany is grappling with upheavals in its global defense and security policies, triggered by Russia’s war on Ukraine and forthcoming decisions about arming the government in Kyiv. 

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin is due in Berlin on Thursday, and will host a meeting of senior defence officials from allied nations the following day at the US airbase in Ramstein. Before the gathering of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group, the German government is expected to make a decision on tank deliveries.

Mr Scholz’s administration is

facing mounting pressure to supply Ukraine with Leopard battle tanks

after Poland and Finland announced that they wanted to send their own German-made combat vehicles. The UK has also pledged to supply Challenger 2 tanks.

Germany – one of the top suppliers of military aid to Kyiv – is expected to drop its resistance and ship the Leopards amid concerns that the fighting in Ukraine could intensify in the spring, according to officials familiar with the government’s thinking.

Ms Christine Lambrecht,

who served as defence minister for just over a year,

came under close media scrutiny over her perceived lack of military expertise, with criticism intensifying after she released a seemingly tone-deaf New Year’s Eve video that critics interpreted as making light of Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Public broadcaster ARD and Spiegel magazine previously reported the decision to nominate Mr Pistorius, and the government confirmed the news Tuesday morning, stating that he will be sworn in on Thursday. In an interview with Bloomberg at the World Economic Forum, economic minister Robert Habeck described Mr Pistorius as “the right representative for the Germany army.” AFP, BLOOMBERG