Pistorius was born inOsnabrück, the second son ofUrsula Pistorius (née Raabe; 1933–2015) and Ludwig Pistorius (1923–2009).[5] His mother was a member of the Osnabrück city council from 1972 to 1996 and also served as a member of theLandtag of Lower Saxony from 1978 to 1990.[6]
Pistorius was part of the city council from 1996 until 2013 and from 1999 to 2002 he served as second mayor ofOsnabrück.[11]
Pistorius served asMayor of Osnabrück,[4] starting his mayoral term on 7 November 2006 winning with 55.5% against Wolfgang Griesert[12] who would later go on to become the Mayor after Pistorius's resignation due to his position at theLower Saxony government in 2013.[13]
State Minister of the Interior and Sports (2013–2022)
From 2013 to 2017, Pistorius was one of the state's representatives on theGerman Bundesrat; from 2017, he was an alternate member.[14] In this capacity, he was a member of the German-Russian Friendship Group set up in cooperation with theRussian Federation Council. He was also an alternate member of the German delegation to theNATO Parliamentary Assembly, where he was part of the Political Committee, its Sub-Committee on NATO Partnerships and its Sub-Committee on Transatlantic Relations.[15]
During his time in office in state government, Pistorius was widely seen as standing out in his state for his tough stance[16] on Islamist radicalism, terror threats,organized crime and far-right extremism.[17]
In the2019 SPD leadership election, Pistorius was a candidate for the position as the party's co-chair, together with Saxony State MinisterPetra Köpping.[18][19] Köpping and Pistorius came in fifth place, receiving only 14.41% of the vote.
On 17 January 2023,ChancellorOlaf Scholz announced that Pistorius would succeedChristine Lambrecht, who resigned on 16 January after numerous political blunders, asMinister of Defence inChancellor Olaf Scholz's cabinet.[21][22] This came as a surprise to many political observers, withSPD co-leaderLars Klingbeil and BundestagArmed Forces CommissionerEva Högl being floated most often as replacements.[23] The appointment was criticized,[24] as it would mean breaking the gender parity Scholz had promised upon the cabinet's formation.[25] A plausible explanation is that, in the acute European military crisis – many people, including people in the Bundeswehr – thought it irresponsible to again appoint somebody without any military experience,[26] and to instead appoint based on competency rather than gender.
Pistorius with US Ambassador to GermanyAmy Gutmann in 2023
Pistorius and then-US Secretary of DefenseLloyd Austin in Berlin, Germany, 19 January 2023
Pistorius with US Secretary of DefensePete Hegseth in Brussels, Belgium, February 2025
Pistorius was formally appointed by German presidentFrank-Walter Steinmeier and eventually took the oath of office at theBundestag on 19 January 2023.
During his first year in office, Pistorius announced military aid worth€2.7billion (US$3.0billion) to Ukraine both in May 2023[29] and€1billion (US$1.1billion) in October 2023.[30]
In March 2023, Pistorius participated in the first joint cabinet meeting of the governments of Germany and Japan inTokyo, chaired by Chancellor Scholz andPrime MinisterFumio Kishida. In October 2023, he joined the first joint cabinet retreat of the German and French governments in Hamburg, chaired by Scholz andPresidentEmmanuel Macron.[31][32]
In July 2024,Christian Lindner warned Boris Pistorius that no additional funds would be provided for military modernization beyond what the coalition government had already agreed upon. This followed a budget decision that left Pistorius, responsible for revitalizing Germany's defenses amid increased security concerns following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, feeling disappointed. Lindner defended the funding arrangement, highlighting a special 100-billion-euro fund that had been made available to Pistorius for military upgrades, a resource unprecedented for previous defense ministers, and urged efficient use of these resources.[33] This budgetary restraint came as the IMF noted that Germany's low public infrastructure investment was affecting its economic growth, despite having the lowest debt-to-GDP ratio in the G7.[34]
Under Pistorius' leadership, Germany joined the US-ledUnited Nations Command (UNC) in South Korea in August 2024, becoming the 18th nation to do so.[35] Also in August 2024, Pistorius and his Philippine counterpartGilberto Teodoro committed to establishing long-term relations between their armed forces to expand training and bilateral exchanges, explore opportunities to expand bilateral armaments cooperation and engage in joint projects.[36]
In July 2024, the United States announced its intention to deploylong-range missiles in Germany beginning in 2026.[37] US weapons in Germany would includeSM-6 andTomahawk cruise missiles andhypersonic weapons.[38] The United States' decision to deploy missiles in Germany has been compared to the deployment ofPershing II launchers in Western Europe in the 1980s.[39][38] The decision was supported by Boris Pistorius and German ChancellorOlaf Scholz. Critics say the move would trigger a newarms race.[40] According to Russian military analysts, it would be extremely difficult to distinguish between a conventionally armed missile and a missile carrying anuclear warhead, and Russia could respond by deploying longer-range nuclear systems targeting Germany.[41]
Polling conducted in 2024 found Pistorius to be the most popular politician in Germany. He declined to be the SPD's Chancellor-candidate in the2025 election.[42]
In 2018, Pistorius suggested thatsanctions againstRussia should be reviewed.[49] In 2021, he demanded that Germany order the messaging programTelegram removed fromApple Inc.'s and Google'sapp stores if it continues to ignore requests to help track down extremist content.[50][full citation needed] Amid the2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Pistorius condemned what he has called Russia's "brutal attacks" on Ukraine.[51] In May 2022, he said that Russian sympathizers must not glorify Russia's war against Ukraine on German streets.[51] In October 2023, following the outbreak of theGaza war, Pistorius expressed full support forIsrael. He told Israeli Defence MinisterYoav Gallant that "whatever we can do to support you, with material support, we will do this."[52] In January 2024, he warned that Russia could attackNATO in 5 to 8 years.[53] In April 2024, Pistorius compared Russian PresidentVladimir Putin toNazi Germany's leaderAdolf Hitler and urged Europe to prepare for a full-scale war with Russia, saying that "Putin will not stop once the war against Ukraine is over."[54]
Pistorius has two daughters with his wife Sabine, who died in 2015 due to cancer.[55] He was in a relationship withDoris Schröder-Köpf from 2016 until spring 2022.[56] He has been in a relationship with Julia Schwanholz, a professor at theUniversity of Duisburg-Essen, since 2022.[57]
^Remmers, Bernhard."Osnabrück sucht den OB-Kandidaten" [Osnabrück is searching for the mayoral candidate] (in German). Hannoversche Allgemeine.Archived from the original on 24 October 2020. Retrieved12 November 2021.
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