As of: January 30, 2024, 5:23 p.m
By: Christian Stör
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The defense department is more difficult to run than any other ministries.
In recent years, many incumbents have failed.
A chronicle in pictures.
1 / 9Rudolf Scharping (1998 to 2002): When the honorary formation of the Polish army welcomed the minister in Krakow, Poland, in February 1999, Scharping's world was still in order.
But then he stumbled upon two disastrous affairs.
While the Bundeswehr was about to deploy in Macedonia, he happily had himself photographed in the swimming pool with his partner, Countess Pilati.
And the SPD was also annoyed by the dubious deals with PR man Moritz Hunzinger.
Scharping was finally released in July 2002.
© Ferdinand Ostrop/dpa
2 / 9Peter Struck (2002 to 2005): Shortly after taking office, the SPD politician made it clear which guidelines should apply to the Bundeswehr under his leadership.
“The security of the Federal Republic of Germany is also defended in the Hindu Kush,” said Struck, referring to the Afghanistan mission.
He experienced this firsthand in February 2003 when, after a rocket attack on the German ISAF camp in Kabul, he had to be shielded in a shelter by military police in almost complete darkness.
© Boris Roessler/dpa
3 / 9Franz Josef Jung (2005 to 2009): Shortly after taking office, the CDU politician immediately sought proximity to the German soldiers.
For example, in December 2005, when he sat with them on the frigate Lübeck in the port of Djibouti.
The business trip later took him to Kabul, but he preferred not to talk about a “war” in connection with the Bundeswehr's Afghanistan mission.
After the German-ordered air raid near Kunduz with numerous civilian casualties, Jung resigned - after he had recently moved to the Ministry of Labor.
© Michael Hanschke/dpa
4 / 9Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg (2009 to 2011): The CSU politician initially did everything differently than his predecessor.
As early as November 2009, he made his way to Kabul in a Bundeswehr transport plane and spoke to the soldiers from his heart by confessing that there was a war in Afghanistan.
Guttenberg abolished conscription and reduced the size of the force.
The end came when he had to admit to plagiarism in his doctoral thesis.
On March 1, 2011 he announced his resignation.
© Michael Kappeler/dpa
5 / 9Thomas de Maizière (2011 to 2013): The CDU politician was also drawn to Afghanistan early on, where he flew by helicopter from Mazar-i-Sharif to Kunduz to visit German soldiers.
But it was another flying object that was troubling him.
The debacle surrounding the Euro Hawk drone, which was far too expensive, presented him with insoluble problems at the beginning of 2013.
He moved to the interior department, but was not reappointed to the cabinet by Chancellor Merkel after the 2017 election.
© Michael Kappeler/dpa
6 / 9Ursula von der Leyen (2013 to 2019): The CDU politician was the first woman to head the Defense Ministry.
Because of right-wing activities, she severely criticized her own troops and recognized a general problem in the Bundeswehr, which she accused of an “attitude problem,” “weak leadership at various levels,” and “misunderstood esprit de corps.”
This may have damaged their bond with the soldiers.
A consultant affair led to a committee of inquiry into her term of office.
But she only had to testify there after she had already been promoted to head of the EU Commission in Brussels.
© Arne Immanuel Bänsch/dpa
7 / 9Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (2019 to 2021): After von der Leyen's statement about the Bundeswehr's "attitude problem", her successor had a hard time building trust in the troops.
Even under her leadership, the Bundeswehr continued to suffer from inadequate equipment.
Because of the ammunition scandal at the KSK (Special Forces Command), AKK came under pressure.
The hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan following the advance of the Taliban also fell during her term of office.
© Christophe Gateau/dpa
8 / 9Christine Lambrecht (2021 to 2023): In better times, the SPD politician still had reason to laugh, for example during her visit to Mali, where she was greeted by defense attaché Carsten Boos.
But mostly she was under immense pressure.
She was accused of a lack of expertise, the slow start to procurement for the Bundeswehr, and also her appearance in public.
A photo of her son traveling in a Bundeswehr helicopter also caused a stir.
Irritation was finally caused by a New Year's message in which she spoke about the war in Ukraine, accompanied by New Year's Eve fireworks in Berlin.
© Michael Kappeler/dpa
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9 / 9The executive office in the Bendlerblock is generally considered an ejector seat and therefore a potential career killer.
This does not seem to apply to Boris Pistorius so far.
The Defense Minister has been the most popular politician in Germany since he took office at the beginning of 2023.
Pistorius was Interior Minister in Lower Saxony from February 2013 to January 2023.
He was previously mayor of Osnabrück from 2006 to 2013.
Pistorius is widowed and has two daughters.
© Axel Heimken/afp