UPDATE - Boris Pistorius to be Germany’s new defense minister

UPDATES WITH GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN’S STATEMENT; REVISES HEADLINE, DECK; EDITS THROUGHOUT

BERLIN (AA) – Social Democrat politician Boris Pistorius will be Germany’s new defense minister, the government announced on Tuesday.

The veteran politician will replace Christine Lambrecht, who resigned from her post on Monday following a series of fiascos and policy failures.

“Chancellor Olaf Scholz will appoint Boris Pistorius as the new defense minister,” government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said in a statement, adding that the chancellor has taken the decision following close consultations with his party colleagues.

Pistorius has been the interior minister of the federal state of Lower Saxony since 2013, and previously he served as the mayor of Osnabruck city.

Hebestreit said the new minister will receive his certificate of appointment from President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Thursday, and take his oath of office in parliament on the same day.

Lambrecht, the outgoing defense minister, was widely criticized by the opposition parties for failing to show leadership, neglecting the severe problems of the armed forces, and being slow with weapons deliveries to Ukraine.