ARCHIVE – Bruno Kahl (l), former President of the Federal Intelligence Service (BND), and Martin Jäger, new BND President, stand together at the handover of office. Photo: Kay Nietfeld/dpa/Archive photo
Keystone
The former President of the Federal Intelligence Service (BND), Bruno Kahl, is the new German ambassador to the Vatican. The 63-year-old presented his credentials to Pope Leo XIV in a private audience, as the Vatican announced. Kahl had headed the German foreign intelligence service since 2016. The BND is now led by career diplomat Martin Jäger, who was previously ambassador to Ukraine.
Kahl has been in Rome for several weeks, but has not yet officially taken office. Last month, he had already accompanied Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier to a private audience with the Pope, the head of 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide. The previous German ambassador to the Vatican, Bernhard Kotsch, has been State Secretary at the Federal Foreign Office since May.