Europe

Mark Rutte confirmed as new Nato secretary general

Outgoing Dutch prime minister succeeds Norway’s Jens Stoltenberg as head of 32-member military alliance

Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte is to be the new secretary general of Nato. Photograph: Nick Gammon/AFP via Getty Images

Wed Jun 26 2024 - 12:39

Nato on Wednesday selected Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte as its next leader, as the war in Ukraine rages on its doorstep and uncertainty hangs over the US’s future attitude to the transatlantic alliance.

Mr Rutte’s appointment as secretary general became a formality after his only rival for the post, Romanian president Klaus Iohannis, announced last week that he had quit the race, having failed to gain sufficient support.

Mr Rutte (57) will take over on October 1st from Jens Stoltenberg of Norway, who is stepping down after a decade in the post.

Ambassadors from the alliance's 32 members took the decision at a meeting at Nato headquarters in Brussels.

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Mr Rutte said he looked forward to taking up the job “with great vigour”.

“The Alliance is and will remain the cornerstone of our collective security. Leading this organisation is a responsibility I do not take lightly,” he posted on X.

After declaring his interest in the post last year, Mr Rutte gained early support from key members of the alliance including the United States, Britain, France and Germany.

Others were more reticent, particularly eastern European countries, which argued the post should go to someone from their region for the first time.

But they ultimately rowed in behind Mr Rutte, a fierce critic of Russian president Vladimir Putin and a staunch ally of Ukraine.

Rutte has been one of the driving forces behind Europe’s military support for Ukraine since Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion, and says defeat on the battlefield for Moscow is vital to secure peace in Europe.

His view is heavily influenced by the downing of an airliner over Ukraine in 2014, which the Netherlands blames on Russia, and in which 196 of the 298 victims were Dutch. Nato must be powerful to counter Moscow, and other European Union leaders must not be naive about Mr Putin’s Russia, he says.

Mr Stoltenberg said he warmly welcomed the selection of Mr Rutte as his successor. “Mark is a true transatlanticist, a strong leader, and a consensus-builder,” he said. “I know I am leaving Nato in good hands.”

Nato takes decisions by consensus so Mr Rutte, who is bowing out of Dutch politics after nearly 14 years as prime minister, could only be confirmed once all 32 alliance members gave him their backing.

He will face the challenge of sustaining allies’ support for Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s invasion while guarding against Nato’s being drawn directly into a war with Moscow.

He will also have to contend with the possibility that Nato-sceptic Donald Trump may return to the White House after November’s US presidential election.

Mr Trump’s possible return has unnerved Nato leaders as the Republican former president called into question US willingness to support other members of the alliance if they were attacked. – Reuters

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2024

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