20 Facts About Christine Lambrecht

In Chancellor Angela Merkel's administration, Lambrecht previously served as Minister of Justice and Consumer Protection, Minister for Family Affairs and as one of two Parliamentary State Secretaries at the Federal Ministry of Finance.

Christine Lambrecht previously held various roles within the SPD Parliamentary Group, including as a Deputy Leader and from December 2013 to September 2017 as first parliamentary secretary of the SPD parliamentary group.

Christine Lambrecht attended the Albertus-Magnus-Gymnasium in Viernheim, in the German state of Hesse, and in 1984 she passed her Abitur.

Christine Lambrecht joined the SPD in 1982 and was a member of the Viernheim City Council from 1985 till 2001, of which she was the chair in the years 1997 till 2001.

Christine Lambrecht first became a Member of the Bundestag in the 1998 elections.

Christine Lambrecht was seen as being on the left wing of the SPD parliamentary group.

From 2002 until 2005 and from 2013 until 2017, Christine Lambrecht served on the parliamentary body in charge of appointing judges to the Highest Courts of Justice, namely the Federal Court of Justice, the Federal Administrative Court, the Federal Fiscal Court, the Federal Labour Court, and the Federal Social Court.

Christine Lambrecht was a deputy leader of the group till her election as first parliamentary secretary of the SPD parliamentary group after the 2013 federal election.

On 19 June 2019 it was announced that Christine Lambrecht would succeed justice minister Katarina Barley on the 1 July 2019, after the latter moved to Brussels to serve in the European Parliament.

In September 2020, Christine Lambrecht announced that she would not stand in the 2021 federal elections but instead resign from active politics by the end of the parliamentary term.

In May 2021, Christine Lambrecht additionally took on the portfolio of the Federal Minister for Family Affairs, Women, and Youth, after Franziska Giffey resigned in reaction to her plagiarism affair.

Christine Lambrecht was named Federal Minister of Defence in the cabinet of Olaf Scholz, taking office on 8 December 2021.

In one of her first speeches, Christine Lambrecht asked for more money for the German army.

Christine Lambrecht probably intended it as such, but the offer was received very differently.

In March 2022, Christine Lambrecht was openly criticized by Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to the Ukrainian president, for saying that "NATO won't intervene in the Russo-Ukrainian War".

In May 2022, Christine Lambrecht led negotiations with fellow cabinet members Christian Lindner and Annalena Baerbock as well as Mathias Middelberg on securing a two-thirds majority in parliament needed to change Germany's constitution to allow for a credit-based special defense fund of 100 billion euros.

In October 2022, Christine Lambrecht visited Odesa to meet with Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, in her first visit to the country since the invasion.

On 16 January 2023, Christine Lambrecht announced her decision to step down as Defence Minister.

Christine Lambrecht blamed the media for focusing on her, instead of conducting fact based reporting.

In 2022, Christine Lambrecht was criticised for taking her son with her using an army helicopter, while she went for visiting troops and her son went on holiday.