Boris Pistorius will lead efforts to modernise Germany’s army and steer policy on the war in Ukraine.
Germany has appointed a new defence minister as pressure mounts on Berlin to allow European nations to send German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.
The government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Tuesday named Boris Pistorius as the defence chief to replace scandal-hit Christine Lambrecht, who resigned a day earlier.
Pistorius, from Scholz’s governing Social Democrat Party (SPD), will leave his position as the interior minister of the state of Lower Saxony.
He gained a national profile during the 2015 refugee crisis and is known for taking a hard line on security issues.
“Pistorius is an extremely experienced politician who is tried and tested in administration. [He] has dealt with security policy for years,” Scholz said.