“Crisis-tested” minister
Because the cabinet is reorganized because of Pistorius’ departure
01/20/2023, 3:30 p.m
One goes to Berlin, the other comes back from Berlin: Because Boris Pistorius is the new Federal Defense Minister, the cabinet in Lower Saxony is being reshuffled. Member of the Bundestag Philippi returns to his homeland. And the interior department is now being managed by a woman for the first time.
After Boris Pistorius moved to Berlin as the new Federal Defense Minister, Lower Saxony will have a female Minister of the Interior for the first time in the state’s history. The previous social and health minister, Daniela Behrens, will be appointed the new head of the interior department, Prime Minister Stephan Weil told journalists in Hanover. Their successor at the head of the State Ministry of Social Affairs will be the health politician and SPD member of the Bundestag Andreas Philippi, who comes from Lower Saxony.
Weil justified the decision in favor of Behrens, among other things, with her work as Minister of Health in the corona pandemic. In doing so, she “demonstrated impressively” that she was “crisis-tested and crisis-proof,” said the Prime Minister. In addition, there is clear communication both internally and externally. This “leadership strength” is also required in the management of the Ministry of the Interior.
Pistorius was Interior Minister for Lower Saxony for around ten years before Chancellor Olaf Scholz brought him to Berlin to succeed the resigned Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht. He was appointed on Thursday. Behrens took over the Ministry of Social Affairs in Hanover in 2021 at the height of the Corona crisis. The 54-year-old had previously headed the Equal Opportunities Department in the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs in Berlin.
According to Weils, the appointment of Behrens, who is already a minister, is only formally made by means of a corresponding letter he has written, which has already been handed over to her. Philippi will be confirmed and sworn in as a new member of the state government on Wednesday next week in the state parliament. Then a plenary session is scheduled anyway.
“I hope the Home Office can handle a strong woman”
In a joint appearance with Weil and Philippi, Behrens told journalists that she was taking over the Ministry of the Interior “with great conviction” but also “with great respect” for the task. You have “the courage” to do so. The fact that she is the first state interior minister to write a “with a bit of history” is an incentive for her. “I hope that the Ministry of the Interior can deal with a strong woman,” added the politician with a smile.
Behrens had already temporarily taken over the management of the state interior ministry after Pistorius moved to Berlin as part of the state cabinet’s deputy plan. According to the SPD parliamentary group in the state parliament, she is also moving up to the state parliament as a member of parliament for Pistorius via the SPD state list because he also resigned his seat in the state parliament. Behrens is not yet a member of parliament.