Baerbock's circle of power in the Foreign Ministry: Proximity to the party as a constant behind surprising appointments

Created: 05/02/2022, 19:24

By: Magdalena von Zumbusch

Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has filled a number of positions in the Federal Foreign Office.

© IMAGO/Janine Schmitz/photothek.de

How Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock built up a green management team at the Federal Foreign Office and what personnel decisions she had to make to do so.

Berlin - The Foreign Minister has already largely renewed the leadership of the Federal Foreign Office in the first few weeks of her term.

The new appointments are mostly from the Green Party, which she chaired until February 2022.

Annalena Baerbock largely renewed the leadership team at the Federal Foreign Office in the first few weeks of her term.

On the one hand, this is due to the departure of officials and diplomats close to the SPD, but on the other hand also to Baerbock's personnel decisions, which caused a stir in her ministry.

Baerbock's appointment of Minister of State Tobias Lindner is well received

Tobias Lindner (Greens), Minister of State in the Foreign Office, moved from the Bundestag to his new office.

Lindner has been a security expert in the Bundestag since 2011, where he primarily deals with defense policy issues.

Most recently, in addition to other roles in various committees of the Bundestag, he was security policy spokesman for his parliamentary group.

Lindner is known to the public primarily because of his important role in the Bundestag committee of inquiry into inconsistencies in external consultancy contracts, which were concluded at the time by former Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen (CDU).

Lindner was able to enjoy praise in his new office after his first meeting, including from the Union, as reported by

.

Appointment of Secretary of State Jennifer Morgan: viewed very critically by the Union

With Greenpeace boss Jennifer Morgan, Minister Baerbock has an important environmental activist behind her.

The American has previously worked exclusively as an employee of non-governmental organizations.

Morgan's attitude was observed with suspicion, above all by the CDU, as reported by

: The parliamentary manager of the Union faction in the Bundestag, Thorsten Frei, called the appointment of the Greenpeace activist "green hypocrisy in terms of lobbying".

Because of her good networking among climate activists and climate politicians, she was probably seen by the Foreign Minister as a suitable person who would exercise her office in the interests of the Greens.

Baerbock's appointment of Minister of State Anna Lührmann surprised those in the know

Anna Lührmann (Greens) was elected to the Bundestag in 2002 at the age of 19 as the youngest member of parliament ever.

In the past two legislative periods, she did not pursue political tasks full-time.

In the last federal election, she was re-elected to parliament – ​​and even appointed Minister of State at the Federal Foreign Office by Foreign Minister Baerbock.

There, Lührmann will primarily have a say in European policy.

knows that Lührmann's appointment as Minister of State came as a surprise to some

: Green Europe expert Franziska Brantner was actually traded for the post.

Instead, Brantner became parliamentary state secretary in the climate and economics ministry led by Robert Habeck.

Minister of State Katja Keul repeatedly campaigned for pacifist goals

After Lindner and Lührmann, Katja Keul, another former member of the Bundestag for the Greens, has been in the Foreign Office since Minister Baerbock was in office.

She has been in the Bundestag since 2009, most recently on the subcommittee on disarmament and arms control.

She probably stands for a typically green peace policy and consistently stood up for this ideal: in 1999, Keul temporarily left the Greens because the party had voted for the Kosovo mission.

And she also expressly criticized the line of Green Party leader Robert Habeck, who advocates German arms deliveries to Ukraine.

State Secretary Andreas Michaelis through Minister Baerbock:

The most controversial personnel decision by Baerbock was probably the appointment of Andreas Michaelis as State Secretary in the Foreign Office.

Michaeli's diplomatic career began as spokesman for the former Green Party politician Joschka Fischer, later he became ambassador to Israel and head of the political department at the Federal Foreign Office under Frank-Walter-Steinmeier.

From 2018 to 2020 Michaelis was State Secretary, under Baerbock he has now returned to the Foreign Ministry after a temporary other job.

He replaces State Secretary Miguel Berger, who, according to

, was particularly valued at the Federal Foreign Office.

It is assumed that the replacement is motivated by party politics: Berger is considered to be close to the SPD, while Michaelis is a member of the Greens.

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