List of German Defense Ministers

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Defense Minister or in the German Reich Reichswehr Minister was a permanent cabinet post in the various German state systems.

Reich Minister of War in the Provisional Central Authority (1848/1849)

Imperial eagle of the central power
Surname Term of office (beginning) Term of office (end)
Eduard von Peucker July 15, 1848 May 16, 1849
August Ludwig zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg May 21, 1849 December 20, 1849

Reichswehr Minister in the Weimar Republic (1919–1933)

Coat of arms of the Weimar Republic
Surname Term of office (beginning) Term of office (end) Political party
Gustav Noske February 13, 1919 March 22, 1920 SPD
Otto Gessler March 27, 1920 January 19, 1928 DDP
Wilhelm Groener January 20, 1928 May 30, 1932 -
Kurt von Schleicher June 1, 1932 January 28, 1933 -

Reichswehr Minister in the Third Reich (1933–1945)

Surname Term of office (beginning) Term of office (end) Political party
Werner von Blomberg January 30, 1933 January 27, 1938 -
Adolf Hitler February 4, 1938 April 30, 1945 NSDAP

Minister for National Defense of the GDR (1956–1990)

Coat of arms of the GDR
Surname Term of office (beginning) Term of office (end) Political party
Willi Stoph March 1, 1956 July 14, 1960 SED
Heinz Hoffmann July 14, 1960 2nd December 1985 SED
Heinz Keßler 3rd December 1985 November 18, 1989 SED
Theodor Hoffmann November 18, 1989 April 12, 1990 SED
Rainer Eppelmann April 12, 1990 October 2, 1990 THERE

Federal Minister of Defense of the Federal Republic of Germany (since 1955)

Coat of arms of the Federal Republic
Surname Term of office (beginning) Term of office (end) Political party
Federal Minister for Affairs of the Federal Defense Council
Heinrich Krone July 13, 1964 1st December 1966 CDU
Federal Minister for Defense
Theodor Blank June 7, 1955 October 16, 1956 CDU
Franz Josef Strauss October 16, 1956 December 29, 1961 CSU
Federal Minister of Defense
Franz Josef Strauss December 30, 1961 January 9, 1963 CSU
Kai-Uwe von Hassel January 9, 1963 1st December 1966 CDU
Gerhard Schröder 1st December 1966 October 21, 1969 CDU
Helmut Schmidt October 22, 1969 July 7, 1972 SPD
Georg Leber July 7, 1972 February 16, 1978 SPD
Hans Apel 17th February 1978 October 1, 1982 SPD
Manfred Woerner 4th October 1982 May 18, 1988 CDU
Rupert Scholz May 18, 1988 April 21, 1989 CDU
Gerhard Stoltenberg April 21, 1989 March 31, 1992 CDU
Volker Rühe April 1, 1992 October 26, 1998 CDU
Rudolf Scharping October 27, 1998 July 19, 2002 SPD
Peter Struck July 19, 2002 November 22, 2005 SPD
Franz Josef Jung November 22, 2005 October 28, 2009 CDU
Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg October 28, 2009 March 3, 2011 CSU
Thomas de Maizière March 3, 2011 17th December 2013 CDU
Ursula von der Leyen 17th December 2013 17th July 2019 CDU
Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer 17th July 2019 officiating CDU