{"id":63141,"date":"2023-01-16T12:56:03","date_gmt":"2023-01-16T12:56:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2023\/01\/16\/germanys-defense-minister-resigns-amid-ukraine-criticism\/"},"modified":"2026-08-20T12:28:44","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T12:28:44","slug":"germanys-defense-minister-resigns-amid-ukraine-criticism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2023\/01\/16\/germanys-defense-minister-resigns-amid-ukraine-criticism\/","title":{"rendered":"Germany\u2019s defense minister resigns amid Ukraine criticism"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">BERLIN (AP) \u2014 Germany\u2019s much-criticized defense minister announced her resignation Monday, as her department steers the massive project of modernizing the country\u2019s military and oversees expanding weapons deliveries to Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Christine Lambrecht said in a written statement that she had submitted her resignation request to Chancellor Olaf Scholz, adding that \u201cmonths of media focus on my person\u201d had stood in the way of a factual debate about the military and Germany\u2019s security policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe valuable work of the soldiers and many people in my department must stand in the foreground,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A spokesperson for Scholz said the chancellor had accepted Lambrecht\u2019s resignation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe chancellor respects the decision by Ms. Lambrecht and thanks her for her good work in these difficult and challenging times,\u201d Christiane Hoffmann told reporters in Berlin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She said a replacement would be announced \u201csoon.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hoffmann added that it was important to Scholz to ensure gender parity among ministers, but declined to comment on a possibility of a wider Cabinet reshuffle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The 57-year-old Lambrecht has been defense 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 \u201ca first-class defense minister.\u201d Pressure on her mounted recently after an ill-judged New Year\u2019s video message.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lambrecht\u2019s 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 armored personnel carriers and a Patriot air defense missile battery to Kyiv.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">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\u2019s governing coalition, have long complained of Scholz\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/global\/europe\/2023\/01\/12\/britain-to-give-ukraine-heavy-tanks-as-german-leos-are-on-hold\/\">perceived hesitancy<\/a> to step up aid. Lambrecht was overshadowed on the issue by the chancellor, who made most major announcements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lambrecht was then Finance Minister Scholz\u2019s 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\u2019s government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She was respected in those roles but was widely viewed as one of the Scholz government\u2019s weakest links at the Defense Ministry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The notoriously unwieldy department has a history of diminishing ministers\u2019 reputations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Its importance increased with Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine. That prompted Scholz to announce a special 100 billion-euro ($108 billion) fund to upgrade the German military, the Bundeswehr, which has suffered for years from neglect and in particular from aging, poorly functioning equipment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">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 \u201csuch projects must be carefully negotiated \u2014 this is tax money.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The minister also drew criticism for hapless communication, starting with a January 2022 announcement that Germany would deliver 5,000 military helmets to Ukraine as \u201ca very clear signal that we stand by your side.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In April, she took her 21-year-old son along on a military helicopter flight, which became public when he posted a photo to Instagram that it turned out the minister had taken herself. Her ministry said she had applied for permission and paid the costs herself, but critics said it showed poor judgment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">An amateurish New Year\u2019s video message on her own private Instagram account prompted new opposition calls for Lambrecht\u2019s departure and strained political allies\u2019 patience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It showed a barely audible Lambrecht speaking against a backdrop of loud New Year\u2019s Eve fireworks in a Berlin street.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cA war is raging in the middle of Europe,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd connected with that for me were a lot of special impressions that I was able to gain \u2014 many, many meetings with interesting, great people.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Chancellor Olaf Scholz will name a successor &#8220;soon,&#8221; according to a spokeswoman, as Germany hosts a key meeting of Ukraine military aid donors on Jan. 20.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":82613,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":46,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[160,46,11,36],"tags":[8614,8628],"coauthors":[4766],"class_list":["post-63141","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-europe","category-global","category-newsletters","tag-germany","tag-ukraine"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"HGDEUXWQMFHWVOAS3JXPOV7UH4","arc_canonical_url":"\/global\/europe\/2023\/01\/16\/germanys-defense-minister-resigns-amid-ukraine-criticism\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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