German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht has resigned following persistent criticism of her handling of military modernisation programmes and the country’s arms deliveries to Ukraine.
She asked Chancellor Olaf Scholz to dismiss her in a written statement and added “months of media focus on my person” had stood in the way of a factual debate about the military and Germany’s security policy.
A spokesperson for Scholz said the chancellor had accepted Lambrecht’s resignation.
The 57-year-old Lambrecht has been defence minister since Scholz became chancellor in December 2021. Critics have long portrayed her as out of her depth. But Scholz stood by her, describing her last month as “a first-class defence minister.”
Lambrecht also faced a wave of fresh criticism after an ill-judged New Year’s video message on her own Instagram account.
It showed a barely audible Lambrecht speaking against a backdrop of loud New Year’s Eve fireworks in a Berlin street.
“A war is raging in the middle of Europe,” she said. “And connected with that for me were a lot of special impressions that I was able to gain — many, many meetings with interesting, great people.”
Lambrecht’s resignation comes at a sensitive moment, as Scholz faces mounting pressure to make another significant step forward in German military aid to Ukraine by agreeing to deliver Leopard 2 battle tanks.
Earlier this month, Germany agreed to provide 40 Marder armoured personnel carriers and a Patriot air defence missile battery to Kyiv.
Germany has given Ukraine substantial support in recent months, including howitzers, Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft guns and the first of four IRIS-T surface-to-air missile systems.
But critics, some inside Germany’s governing coalition, have long complained of Scholz’s perceived hesitancy to step up aid.
Lambrecht was overshadowed on the issue by the chancellor who made most major announcements.
Lambrecht was then Finance Minister Scholz’s deputy before being appointed Justice Minister in 2019. She also was minister for families and women in the closing months of then Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government.
She was respected in those roles but was widely viewed as one of the Scholz government’s weakest links at the Defence Ministry.
The notoriously unwieldy department has a history of diminishing ministers’ reputations.
Its importance increased with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. That prompted Scholz to announce a special 100 billion-euro fund to upgrade the German military, the Bundeswehr, which has suffered for years from neglect and in particular, from ageing, poorly functioning equipment.
Last month, Lambrecht dismissed suggestions that the government had been too slow to get going on its spending drive. She said officials have moved fast but that “such projects must be carefully negotiated — this is tax money.”
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