AFPNATO chief Stoltenberg and outgoing Prime Minister Rutte at a NATO summit in Lithuania last summer
NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 01:13
NATO wants to appoint the new secretary general of the military alliance in the short term. The Member States wish to complete the selection process by next month at the latest. That said US Ambassador to NATO Julianne Smith during a press conference yesterday. “We would like to complete this process.”
Current NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg will leave after the summer after ten years in charge of the alliance. Outgoing Prime Minister Rutte would like to succeed the Norwegian, he indicated last fall.
“I don’t think it’s a secret that Prime Minister Rutte (…) has shown interest,” Smith said yesterday. “So that’s someone the alliance is looking at. But it’s an ongoing process.”
Follow-up date
In that process, the 31 member states must reach mutual agreement on Stoltenberg’s succession. There is no official procedure. The current NATO chief’s term of office has been extended several times in recent years because no suitable candidate emerged. Stoltenberg’s term officially ends on October 1.
If NATO supports Rutte’s candidacy and wants to bring forward that date due to international developments, a special situation could arise. Outgoing Prime Minister Rutte may then leave the Torentje before a new cabinet has been formed. A new outgoing prime minister must then take over until the next cabinet is sworn in.
2024-02-14 00:13:52
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