The details were added (the first version was posted at 18:13)
German Chancellor Angela Merkel nominated Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere as the new defence minister on Wednesday, a day after Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg resigned from the post amid a plagiarism scandal, dpa reported.
Maiziere will in turn be replaced by Hans-Peter Friedrich, a trained lawyer who currently heads the Christian Social Union's (CSU) parliamentary group in Berlin.
Merkel said the two men would officially be appointed on Thursday. The announcement of a Guttenberg successor had initially not been expected until the next day.
But Merkel, who continues to face criticism over her continued support of Guttenberg during the plagiarism affair, said it had been important to "quickly show clarity and a capacity to act" in the wake of his resignation.
De Maiziere, 57, of Merkel's Christian Democratic Party (CDU), is a close aide of the chancellor and headed her Berlin office until he became interior minister after the 2009 elections.
The son of a former army chief of staff, he is known in government circles as a behind-the-scenes power broker. As interior minister, he visited Afghanistan where German police are training local recruits.
Merkel predicted that he would quickly win the trust of German soldiers and "resolutely" implement a military reform programme initiated by Guttenberg, which is expected to include politically sensitive choices about which military bases to close within Germany.
She praised de Maiziere's "brilliant intellect" and exemplary sense of responsibility, saying that he makes policy decisions on the basis of "firm values."
She also described Friedrich, 53, as a long-time important adviser on legal questions. She said she has known him to make his point of view clear, but also seek compromise.
"I am convinced that he will resolutely and energetically carry out the work," Merkel said of his appointment to the interior ministry.
Friedrich had backed Guttenberg, also a member of the CDU's Bavarian sister party, after allegations surfaced that he had plagiarized sources in his PhD thesis.
A former rising star of German politics, Guttenberg had come under increasing political pressure over the last two weeks following revelations that more than 100 pages in his 475-page doctoral thesis had been copied from other works without citation.
The CSU renounced its right to appoint the defence minister from within its own ranks, party leader Horst Seehofer said. Interior and security affairs have traditionally been core CSU issues.
By appointing Friedrich to the cabinet, the CSU has maintained its number of ministers in the centre-right coalition.
Seehofer also confirmed that Guttenberg had decided not only to leave the Defence Ministry, but also quit parliament entirely - despite requests to the contrary from his party.
Seehofer said he hoped that, after a well-deserved rest, the 39- year-old would remain active in German and Bavarian politics.
"He belongs to us, he is one of us," he said. "We also need him."
