By Carsten Hoffmann and Anne-Beatrice Clasmann, dpa
Berlin (dpa) – Germany’s Military Counterintelligence Service (MAD) is to have new leadership, the Defence Ministry confirmed Thursday.
The intelligence agency’s current president, Christof Gramm, is to leave the post effective the beginning of October. He has held the role since 2015.
Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer had decided “with his consent to relieve Christof Gramm of his role in the coming month,” a ministry spokesperson said.
“A successor will be decided shortly,” the spokesperson added.
The move is aimed at advancing the reform process in the agency and the German army after a series of scandals involving far-right extremists.
The MAD has a prominent role in the fight against far-right extremism in the German army.
Kramp-Karrenbauer praised the reforms introduced by Gramm to deal with right-wing extremists in the Bundeswehr.
Both Gramm and the defence minister agreed, however, that the upcoming implementation marks a new phase which will require “additional efforts and dynamism,” the ministry said in a statement. “This new phase should also be made visible in terms of personnel.”
Though generally praised for his efforts to combat the phenomenon, Gramm also came in for criticism from some quarters for having waited too long to take steps against extremism in the ranks.
The deputy head of the Green parliamentary faction, Konstantin von Notz, said that given recent incidences of extremism, the change at the top of the Military Counterintelligence Service was inevitable.
Von Notz highlighted Gramm’s personal integrity and noted that there had recently been improvements in the MAD, which he had initiated.
A successor must be found soon, Von Notz added.
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