NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has handed the reins over to the former Dutch prime minister after 10 years in office. Rutte takes the helm at a critical moment for the alliance.
A series of events began in Brussels on Tuesday to mark a changing of the guard for NATO. Jens Stoltenberg, who has led the alliance since 2014, stepped down in favor of the Netherlands’ ex-Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
Following a symbolic handshake and wreath-laying at NATO headquarters, the pair headed to a meeting with bloc ambassadors at the North Atlantic Council for Rutte’s official appointment.
The outgoing secretary-general said that the group was in “safe hands” with his successor.
Rutte thanked NATO allies for trusting him with the role. “It is a big job, and I have big shoes to fill,” he said.
Stoltenberg took charge of the military alliance the same year Russia annexed Crimea. Only the tenure of Dutch diplomat Joseph Luns, who led NATO for 12 years, surpasses Stoltenberg’s stint.
Ukraine, US election loom large
The longtime Dutch prime minister takes over as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine approaches the 1,000-day mark.
With Russian forces making advances in eastern Ukraine, it will be a crucial part of his job to shore up support for Kyiv among Western allies as fatigue for the conflict increases.
Rutte said on Tuesday that Ukraine was “on top of our list,” as was monitoring the situation in Lebanon.
There are also worries among bloc members over the US presidential election in November. Given that the US is NATO’s most powerful member, a victory for ex-President Donald Trump could shake the alliance as it did in his first term, when he pressured members to increase defense spending and cast doubt on the bloc’s core principle of mutual security.
However, Rutte said during the handover taht he was “not worried. I know both candidates very well. I worked for four years with Donald Trump,” as Dutch prime minister.
