Boris Pistorius has been Federal Minister of Defence since January 19, 2023. Before from 2013 on, he was Minister of the Interior and Sport in Lower Saxony. From 2006 until 2013, he was lord mayor of Osnabrück city. Before he studied law at the Osnabrück and Münster universities, he did his military service.
In his capacity as Minister of Defence, Boris Pistorius is a member of the German government. Additionally, the Minister of Defence is the highest-ranking superior of all soldiers as well as the commander in chief of the armed forces in peacetime. He is the head of the Bundeswehr administration and thus also responsible for the entire civilian staff of the Bundeswehr and the ministry.