A man named Heil could become Germany's new defense minister.

Minister of Defense of the Federal Republic of Germany Christine Lambrecht officially resigned. She may be replaced by the current German Minister of Labor and Social Security, Hubertus Heil, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.

On Monday, January 16, Christine Lambrecht asked Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz to relieve her of her position.

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“The media’s focus on me for many months has made it almost impossible to objectively cover and discuss the topic of military personnel, the Bundeswehr and the directions of security policy in the interests of women and citizens of Germany,” news agencies quoted the minister’s press release.

That is, in fact, Lambrecht blamed the media for her resignation.

Lambrecht, a lawyer by training, became Minister of Defense by accident: the Chancellor, who promised gender equality in the government he was forming, certainly needed a woman at the head of this department. This was in December 2021, when the West was actively talking about the possibility of a full-scale conflict in Ukraine.

Lambrecht, however, began not with the modernization of the armed forces, but with the hunt for right-wing radicals in the ranks of the Bundeswehr. She was also very concerned about the low number of female German generals. In February 2022, she generously promised to send 5000 helmets to help Ukraine, which Kiev Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko called “absolutely ridiculous.” But even later, Madame Minister was against the massive allocation of German weapons to Kyiv.

_{At the end of November last year, after the fall of a Ukrainian missile launched from the S-300 air defense system in Poland, Lambrecht, in an interview with the Rheinische Post, spoke about plans to transfer one of the German Patriot air defense batteries to Warsaw. A couple of weeks later, it became known that she should not have done this, since the Poles asked the German Ministry of Defense to keep the plan secret. In retaliation, Warsaw spectacularly proposed to transfer the said battery directly to the Ukrainians, which caused further tension in Germany's relations with both Poland and Ukraine.}

But, obviously, the last straw was the video that Christine Lambrecht recorded on her phone and published on New Year’s Eve. To the cannonade of festive fireworks in the center of Berlin, she spoke with tragedy in her voice about the war in Ukraine. Many considered the New Year's address from the German Defense Minister inappropriate not only in form, but also in content. Lambrecht spoke of her personal “many special impressions” and “numerous meetings with interesting, wonderful people” related to this war, for which she says “heartfelt thanks.”

Who will become the next German defense minister has not yet been officially announced. Among the possible candidates for the post of new defense minister, the German press mentions mainly four names - two female and two male.

Potential successors are considered to be Bundestag Commissioner for Military Affairs Eva Högl and Parliamentary State Secretary of the Ministry of Defense Simtje Möller. Potential successors are co-chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Germany Lars Klingbeil, as well as Minister of Labor and Social Security Hubertus Heil.

As the German government portal Deutsche Welle noted, even if the chancellor wants to again maintain gender equality in his government, he can transfer Heil to the Ministry of Defense, making a woman head of the Ministry of Labor.

_{Olaf Scholz cannot delay his appointments for long. Already on Friday, January 20, the next meeting in the “Ramstein format” will take place in Germany, at which the defense ministers of about 50 countries will again discuss providing military assistance to Ukraine. And on Sunday, January 22, a joint meeting of the German and French governments will take place in Paris, at which they will also discuss the supply of additional weapons to Kyiv.}