NATO nominates outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte to be the next Secretary General.
NATO named Mark Rutte as its next secretary general this Wednesday, placing the outgoing Dutch prime minister in charge of the world’s largest security organization at a critical time for European security, with war raging in Ukraine.
Rutte’s appointment was sealed by NATO ambassadors during a meeting at the 32-nation alliance’s headquarters in Brussels. US President Joe Biden and his counterparts will formally welcome him to their table at a summit in Washington, July 9-11.
The outgoing Dutch Prime Minister will replace the current Secretary General, Norwegian Jens Stoltenberg, on October 1st. Stoltenberg spent more than a decade at the helm. His term has been repeatedly extended, in part to ensure continuity after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
His appointment became a formality after his only rival for the position, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, announced last week that he had abandoned the race, having failed to gain traction.
From history scholar to business manager to politician
A history graduate and former human resources director at consumer products multinational Unilever, Rutte became prime minister of the Netherlands for the first time in October 2010. He resigned last July when his four-party coalition fell apart. disagreed over how to control migration.
Despite being one of Europe’s top politicians for years, Rutte has remained down to earth.
You can often see him cycling around his hometown of The Hague or walking from the office to a meeting while eating an apple. When he handed in his government’s resignation to King Willem-Alexander last year, he drove to an ornate royal palace in a Saab van.
While he was Dutch Prime Minister, Rutte was a strong supporter of Ukraine and its right to defend itself after the 2022 Russian invasion. Under his leadership, the Netherlands promised Kiev military equipment, including Leopard tanks and fighter jets. F-16.
The war on Europe’s eastern flank was one of the reasons that led him to seek the position of head of NATO.
“With everything that’s happened in Ukraine, with the instability in the world and with some people who thought I could do it, you can’t just put it aside,” he said. “And it’s, of course, incredibly interesting work.”
Experience on the international political scene
With a broad smile and a firm handshake at European Union summits, Rutte has developed strong working relationships with powerful leaders such as former German Chancellor Angela Merkel and France’s Emmanuel Macron. She also visited Biden and Trump in Washington.
“As a veteran of EU summits, Rutte will have a different understanding of the complex NATO-EU relationship than Stoltenberg,” Lungescu said. “But he will also have to ensure that the EU’s defence efforts complement, rather than undermine, NATO at this critical time.”
Although the Netherlands, under Rutte’s leadership, failed to meet NATO’s target of spending 2% of its GDP on defense, it is expected that it will surpass that mark this year.
NATO estimates suggest the Netherlands will spend 2.05% of its GDP, compared to around 1.2% a decade ago, when allies pledged to increase their military budgets following Russia’s annexation of Crimea.
2024-06-26 09:24:05