German government's hot seat: The defense ministry

Boris Pistorius' appointment came as a surprise to most political pundits. He is a trained lawyer and has been serving as minister for the interior in the northern state of Lower Saxony since 2013.

Lambrecht's yearlong tenure was a succession of minor scandals and unfortunate statements. She had to take much of the criticism for the German government's hesitation to send heavy weaponry to Ukraine. Her gaffes included taking her adult son on an official trip in a military helicopter, and a New Year's message about the war in Ukraine almost drowned out by fireworks exploding in the background.

In 2020, Kramp-Karrenbauer disbanded a company of the Special Forces Command (KSK) after police seized weapons and ammunition during a raid on the property of a KSK soldier linked to far-right networks. During her time as defense minister, Kramp-Karrenbauer apologized to soldiers who for decades faced discrimination on the basis of their sexual orientation.

Ursula von der Leyen's tenure is often linked to an overhaul in personnel, materiel and finances to modernize the Bundeswehr, and to the "Agenda Attractiveness." During von der Leyen's term, the Bundeswehr began its fight against the "Islamic State" (IS ). In addition, a new military organizational area was set up to tackle cyberwarfare.

Thomas de Maizière shaped the Bundeswehr after the suspension of compulsory military service. In 2011, he unveiled plans to reduce troop numbers, cut bureaucracy and eliminate inefficiency in the Federal Ministry of Defense, turning the army into a wholly professional force. An ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel, he moved on to become interior minister.

Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg was the youngest-ever German defense minister. He had to deal with the aftermath of a deadly airstrike in Kunduz but was cleared of being responsible for the Defense Ministry's inadequate communications policy on the incident. He oversaw the suspension of compulsory military service in 2011, but resigned after he was found to have plagiarized part of his doctoral thesis.

Jung rejected US demands that Germany participate in heavy fighting in southern Afghanistan and opted for the deployment of a rapid reaction force in northern Afghanistan instead. Jung later took political responsibility for the airstrikes in Kunduz, when a US fighter jet responded to a call by German forces, struck two fuel tankers captured by Taliban insurgents and killed over 90 civilians.

In his attempt to justify Germany's mission in Afghanistan, Peter Struck coined the much-quoted phrase "Germany will also be defended in the Hindu Kush." He oversaw the revamp of the Bundeswehr to become a nimbler fighting force capable of responding to smaller, regional conflicts. Struck announced in 2003 that Germany would reduce its military by more than 10% by 2010, leaving 250,000 troops.

Under Rudolf Scharping, the Bundeswehr participated in NATO air strikes against Serbia, the first time German soldiers had operated outside Germany since World War II. In 2001, Scharping was criticized publicly by US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld when he was found to be the source of a report that the United States would intervene in Somalia as part of their campaign against terrorism.

Under former English teacher Volker Rühe, the Bundeswehr gradually began its foreign missions outside NATO territory. By supporting the United Nations missions in Cambodia, Somalia and the Balkans, the armed forces gained their first experience of foreign deployment.

Gerhard Stoltenberg, a former finance minister, headed the West German Defense Ministry at the time of reunification and assumed command and control of the all-German armed forces on October 3, 1990. The East German army, the Nationale Volksarmee, merged with the Bundeswehr, thereby leaving the eastern defense alliance "Warsaw Treaty" to join NATO instead.

Rupert Scholz continued the policy of détente between the two military blocs just before the collapse of the Soviet Union. He was replaced in a Cabinet reshuffle in 1989 but later made headlines when he stated in 2007 that he felt Germany should strive to become a nuclear power.

A former fighter pilot, Wörner later went on to become NATO's secretary-general. In 1983, Wörner faced criticism due to the scandal surrounding German General Günter Kiessling, who the military secret service falsely accused of being gay. Wörner ordered Kiessling's early retirement, as homosexuality was considered a security risk at the time.

Hans Apel (l) was the first West German defense minister not to have served in the army. During his tenure, NATO's Double-Track Decision was made, offering the Warsaw Pact a mutual limitation of ballistic missiles in 1979. It was combined with a threat by NATO to deploy more medium-range nuclear weapons in Western Europe.

Georg Leber served in the Luftwaffe during World War II. The trade union leader was held in high esteem by the Bundeswehr rank and file. He oversaw an enlargement of the Bundeswehr and the creation of Bundeswehr universities in Munich and Hamburg. Leber stepped down after taking responsibility for a case of East German espionage in his ministry.

Helmut Schmidt, an officer in World War II, former mayor of Hamburg, and later Ffinance minister and chancellor of Germany, was the first member of the center-left Social Democrats to become defense minister. During his term, the service time for military conscripts was reduced from 15 to eight months.

Gerhard Schröder had been first interior and then foreign minister before he took over the Defense Ministry under Chancellor Kurt-Georg Kiesinger. In 1969, he ran for the office of German president, supported by CDU and the far-right NPD, but was narrowly beaten by center-left candidate Gustav Heinemann.

Early on, the Bundeswehr engaged in many civilian missions such as rescue missions during flood disasters and earthquakes. Its humanitarian missions began as early as the mid-1960s under Kai-Uwe von Hassel, who oversaw the expansion and gradual consolidation of the West German armed forces.

The conservative from Bavaria held various government posts between 1953 and 1969. He was charged with the build-up of the new West German defence forces, the Bundeswehr, but in 1961, he and his party, the CSU, were suspected of taking bribes from US fighter jet maker Lockheed for arranging West Germany's purchase of 900 F-104G Starfighters. Strauss and the CSU denied the allegations.

Theodor Blank, born as the third of 10 children of a carpenter, was conscripted to the Wehrmacht when World War II broke out in 1939 and rose to become a first lieutenant. The staunch Catholic became one of the founders of the CDU in 1945. Following on from his short tenure as defense minister, he served as minister of labor and social affairs from 1957 to 1965.