Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (; Kramp; born 9 August 1962), sometimes referred to by her initials of AKK, is a retired German politician who served as Minister of Defence from 2019 to 2021 and as Leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 2018 to 2021. In February 2020, Kramp-Karrenbauer announced that she would resign her position as CDU leader later in the year and would not put herself forward as a candidate for chancellor for the 2021 federal election. She was succeeded by Armin Laschet at the 2021 Christian Democratic Union of Germany leadership election. Kramp-Karrenbauer previously served as secretary general of the party and as Minister President of Saarland from 2011 to 2018, the first woman to lead the Government of Saarland and fourth woman to head a German state government. Kramp-Karrenbauer is regarded as socially conservative, but on the CDU's left wing in economic policy and has been described as a centrist. She is an active Catholic and has served on the Central Committee of German Catholics. She is the second woman to hold the office of German defence minister. She was succeeded by Christine Lambrecht. In October 2021 she proposed for the use of nuclear weapons against Russia via a First-Strike capability as a deterrence against any "provocation" or aggression. She renounced her Bundestag mandate and retired from politics after the 2021 federal election. Life and education Annegret Kramp was born on 9 August 1962 in Völklingen, located on the Saar River midway between Saarlouis and Saarbrücken, around 40 kilometres from Luxembourg and close to the border with France. She grew up in the neighbouring town of Püttlingen. Her father was a special education teacher and a headmaster. She graduated from high school in 1982 and considered becoming a school teacher, but decided to study politics and law at the University of Trier and at Saarland University, where she earned a master's degree in 1990. Early political career Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer joined the CDU while still in high school in 1981. In 1984 she was elected to the district council of Püttlingen, and in 1985 became chairwoman of the city's CDU association. From 1985 to 1988 she was also a member of the regional board of the Young Union in Saarland. From 1991 to 1998 she served as a policy and planning officer for the CDU in Saarland under environment minister Klaus Töpfer. In 1998, Kramp-Karrenbauer replaced Töpfer in