German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed her regret on Tuesday over Defence Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg's decision to resilgn after he became embroiled in a plagiarism scandal over his PhD, DPA reported.
"I regret his resignation very much, but I understand his personal decision", Merkel said.
The chancellor had publicly backed Guttenberg, of the Bavaria-only Christian Social Union, in the two weeks since revelations emerged that he had copied more than 100 pages of his 475-page doctoral thesis.
Merkel said "now is not the time" to nominate Guttenberg's successor, and stressed that he would officially remain in office until a new defence minister was appointed.
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