The Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte received the support of four more countries for the position of the new Secretary General of NATO.
This was reported by the Dutch television and radio company NOS with reference to sources.
In total, 28 of the 32 NATO member states already support Rutteʼs candidacy. This means that four more countries need to join, as nominations require unanimous support from all 32 member states.
In the next few days, the ministers of foreign affairs of the NATO countries will be in Brussels, where on the sidelines of the summit many conversations are expected about the successor of Jens Stoltenberg, who will leave his post at the beginning of October.
Romania has its own candidate. It is also known that Turkey and Hungary have not yet declared their support for Rutte. Slovakia has also not decided on a candidate.
NOS NATO sources say Rutte is in talks with the four countries about his vision for NATO leadership.
Hungary and Slovakia will weaken their opposition to Rutte if Romanian President Klaus Iohannis withdraws his candidacy, NATO sources say. Until that happens, according to the sources, the Hungarians and Slovaks will be embarrassed to reject Iohannis, the only official candidate from another Eastern European country.
- The current Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg has been in office since October 1, 2014. Before the start of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, Stoltenberg officially refused to run for the next term and agreed to head the Central Bank of Norway. His mandate was extended because NATO member states did not reach a compromise on a successor — this requires the consent of all member states of the Alliance. Stoltenberg will hold the post of Secretary General until October 2024.
- Rutte is considered the most likely candidate for the position of the next NATO Secretary General. However, difficulties may arise with his election, in particular due to the position of Hungary and Turkey.
- In March 2024, Iohannis informed about his desire to run for the post of NATO Secretary General.