The new minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD) has officially taken over the office in the Ministry of Defense.

Lambrecht was greeted with military honors by Inspector General Eberhard Zorn on Wednesday evening at the Bendler Block.

The staff music corps of the army and the guard battalion prepare a festive reception for her.

On this occasion, the Minister said: “Today's handover is an outstanding moment for me in many ways.

The command and control over the armed forces now lies with me, and with it the responsibility for over 260,000 people in the Bundeswehr. "

Peter Carstens

Political correspondent in Berlin

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In contrast to other ministers, the transfer of responsibility took place in the ostentatious absence of the previous Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer.

In contrast to the Chancellery or the Ministry of Economic Affairs, where the handover of office was carried out in accordance with democratic customs and in a warm atmosphere, Kramp-Karrenbauer remained invisible to the public on her last day in office.

Lambrecht reverses the predecessor's measure

The CDU politician, who has ended her political career and also given back her Bundestag mandate, stayed away from the ceremony because the new minister had been told by long-time employees of the ministry before her appointment that she would be until Thursday noon at the latest to vacate their offices. The deal mainly concerned the long-time State Secretary Gerd Hofe, who had already worked in the ministry under Minister Ursula von der Leyen. His successor as the highest civilian civil servant in the ministry will be the previous state secretary in the justice ministry, Margaretha Sudhof. The Hessian lawyer had previously worked for the Berlin Senator for Finance until 2019. Lambrecht also brings confidants from her previous ministry, including employees,whose quick and unconventional promotions had caused displeasure in the Justice Department.

A new civilian press spokesman has also been appointed with immediate effect. Lambrecht was one of the first official acts to reverse an organizational measure taken by her predecessor, who had entrusted her confidante Nico Lange with both the management staff of the house and overall responsibility for public relations. A colonel had taken on the external press work. That had caused criticism in the political arena. The former press spokesman Christian Thiels then left the ministry. He has now been brought back to the Ministry by Minister Lambrecht with immediate effect and immediately moved into his previous office.

According to reports, Thiels had previously been approached by another SPD candidate for the Ministry of Defense. But then he came away empty-handed when the office was awarded. The former television journalist Thiels last worked at the Munich Security Conference. Lambrecht did not mention her predecessor personally at the handover. One message only said: "After the ceremony and a concluding conversation with her predecessor, the new minister in Berlin's Bendler block appointed Siemtje Möller as Parliamentary State Secretary and Thomas Hitschler as Parliamentary State Secretary."

Unlike Lambrecht and Sudhof, the two SPD politicians have a certain amount of previous experience in matters relating to the Bundeswehr, Möller as defense policy spokeswoman, Hitschler as a former member of the Defense Committee and as a member of the Parliamentary Control Committee. You replace the previous Parliamentary State Secretary Thomas Silberhorn (CSU). Its solemn farewell with a military serenade was canceled at short notice on Tuesday due to a serious accident at the Bergen military training area in which two members of the Bundeswehr were killed.

A major tattoo is planned for the military adoption of the minister.

Unlike the Federal Chancellor or the Foreign Minister, Lambrecht is reportedly not planning any inaugural visits to allies in the very near future, as was customary in the past.

According to information from the ministry, a visit to the operational command in Potsdam is planned for the coming week.

Lambrecht had announced that he would soon form his own picture of the soldiers on missions abroad.

She wants to review these operations and have an "exit strategy" worked out.

This applies in particular to the Federal Armed Forces operations in Mali and Iraq.