In the midst of a large reshuffle at the Foreign Office, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) has been given a new political adviser. The appointment follows former Foreign Office colleague Jasper Wieck-who was slated to become the new German ambassador to India-and is announced by the „Tagesspiegel” on Wednesday with claims from within Defence Ministry circles.

The new adviser is diplomat Martin Schäfer. Schäfer was the spokesperson for the Foreign Office from 2013 to 2017, serving under former Foreign Minister Frank‑Walter Steinmeier. After that role he held ambassadorial posts in South Africa and at the German embassy in Paris. Since 2024 he has represented Germany at its permanent mission in Brussels as the ambassador to the Political and Security Committee (the so‑called PSK ambassador).