Holding hands on the red carpet: Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach visited Berlinale 2024 with his new girlfriend Elisabeth Niejahr. This is the couple's first public appearance.

AFederal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach made his first public appearance with his new girlfriend Elisabeth Niejahr on Thursday evening. The couple attended the opening night of the 74th Berlinale and saw the premiere of Small Things Like This.

Niejahr wore a simple red dress and white pumps. His companion, Health Minister Karl Lauterbach, presented himself in an ocher sweater vest, a dark suit and brown lace-up shoes. Lauterbach did not wear a tie, or even a fancy bow tie.

The SPD politician confirmed on “Bild am Sonntag” in January that he is in a relationship with journalist Elisabeth Niejahr. He is the Executive Director of the Department for Strengthening Democracy at the Hertie School in Berlin. “I am happy that Elisabeth Niejahr is in my life,” the 60-year-old federal minister told the newspaper.

The minister has five children from two wives. According to “Bunte” magazine, he told “Bunte” magazine in 2021: “I really don't want to be single for the rest of my life.” Fortunately, what he's been missing is a loving wife—he seems to have found her in Elisabeth Niejahr.