Zürcher Nachrichten - Putin critic Johann Wadephul, Germany's incoming foreign minister

A close confidant of incoming chancellor Friedrich Merz, he is the first member of their centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in decades to serve as Germany's top diplomat.

Wadephul, 62, has long been a key foreign policy adviser to Merz and is expected to coordinate closely with him in a new national security council as Merz hopes to rebuild Berlin's role in Europe and the world.

The MP has in the past pushed to allow Ukraine to strike targets deep inside Russia with Western-supplied weapons -- a stance that has stirred debate within his party and beyond.

He recently told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) daily that Russian President Vladimir Putin "is disruptive, he is aggressive, he is hungry".

Wadephul said the Ukraine war is "about all of us".

"It's not about a few square kilometres in Ukraine but rather the fundamental question of whether we will allow a classic war of conquest in Europe."

Wadephul has in the past worked as a German representative to NATO and is a strong advocate of reinforcing German and European defence capabilities.

Despite the disruptive foreign policy under US President Donald Trump, Wadephul voiced hope that transatlantic ties would stand the test of time.

"America will ultimately understand that it can only win in the confrontation against China and its ally Russia by working together with Europe," he said.

In a media interview in 2020, he urged Franco-German cooperation in nuclear weapons, suggesting that Paris should place its deterrent arsenal under the aegis of NATO or the European Union -- a topic that has gained attention since Trump returned to office.

Most recently, Wadephul served as deputy chair of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group.

The Kieler Nachrichten, a local newspaper in Wadephul's native state of Schleswig Holstein, has described him as "straight talking" and able to communicate "with farmers in the same way as he talks to heads of state".

- 'Defend freedom' -

Wadephul has what the local newspaper described as a "soft spot for the military" and is a lieutenant colonel in the German Armed Forces Reserve.

He told the FAZ that when he grew up during the Cold War, with relatives in communist East Germany, he was aware of the Moscow-backed regime's "brutality" and oppression.

"That made it easy for me to choose to defend freedom," he said.

Wadephul's appointment as foreign minister, the first time the conservatives have held the post in almost 60 years, reflects Merz's stated plan for the government to speak with one voice on foreign policy issues.

This comes after years during which outgoing Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock of the Greens at times publicly contradicted Social Democratic Party (SPD) Chancellor Olaf Scholz, especially on defence issues.

Wadephul was born in Husum, a coastal town near Denmark famous for its harbour lined with colourful houses.

He studied law in Kiel and went on to work as a lawyer specialising in health care law and social issues.

The incoming minister is married with three children and still lives in northern Germany, in the small town of Molfsee on the river Eider.

Wadephul has been a member of the Bundestag since 2009.

He became a member of the German parliament's foreign affairs committee in 2013 and has since held a variety of senior roles focused on foreign policy, including membership of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.

In February 2025, Wadephul fell victim to a prank when Russian comedy duo Vovan and Lexus called him posing as employees of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The 20-minute discussion spanned everything from election campaign assistance to military aid, said German media reports.

But according to the Kieler Nachrichten, the conversation was "neither funny nor indiscreet", with Wadephul emerging as nothing but a "consummate professional".

N.Fischer--NZN