He was regarded as the favorite; now it is official: At the beginning of February 2027, Army Inspector General Christian Freuding will assume the duties as General Inspector of the Bundeswehr.
The Inspector of the Army, Lieutenant General Christian Freuding, will become the new General Inspector of the Bundeswehr. This follows a communiqué from the Ministry of Defense. Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) has decided that Freuding will succeed General Carsten Breuer at the start of February 2027. Thus the 55-year-old incumbent Army Inspector General will become the highest-ranking soldier of the Bundeswehr.
Breuer was elected in September as the head of the NATO Military Committee. Freuding was seen as the favorite for the position of the new General Inspector. “The Bundeswehr is growing strongly,” Pistorius said in the communiqué. It is deeply anchored in society and it is taking on more responsibility within NATO. “For that, it needs a strong, intelligent and convincing leadership personality at its helm.”
As the top soldier of the German Army, Freuding had repeatedly attracted attention. For example, in an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, in which the head of the largest German service branch, despite all “personnel and material deficits,” affirmed the entire army: “Of course we are ready for the ‘Fight Tonight’, i.e., the immediate combat.”
“Freuding stands for the values of our German Armed Forces”
With his personnel decision, Pistorius avoided a prolonged stalemate. Freuding brings with him “all the prerequisites to be a role model for our soldiers and to lead them into the new era in which we must protect ourselves better than in the decades before,” the SPD politician said. As head of the Ukraine task force, he had “analyzed the rapid technological developments in Putin’s war against Ukraine and drawn conclusions for the Bundeswehr’s defense capability.”
Freuding is a trained Army reconnaissance officer and a political scientist by training. As Army Inspector, he “has in a very short time derived and implemented the right measures,” Pistorius praised. Thus Freuding, among other things, ensured that the first drone regiment in the Army was established. “He has impressively proven that even in times of great changes and challenges he keeps a cool head and makes correct decisions quickly.”
In his career to date, the current Army Inspector General has held a variety of leadership assignments in the troops, including company commander, battalion commander and brigade commander. He served in missions in Bosnia and Herzegovina (SFOR) and in Afghanistan (ISAF). Freuding is internationally highly regarded, well connected, and also has a winning personality, according to Pistorius. “He stands for camaraderie and the values of our German Armed Forces.” In addition, he is guided by a clear compass. “All these abilities and his dedication to the profession of arms will now be brought to bear by him as the new General Inspector for the strategic orientation of the Bundeswehr and its growth with new capabilities.”
Florian Pfitzner
