Kallas, Rutte, Fogh Rasmussen: Who is running for NATO Secretary General
Kyiv • UNN
The main contenders for the post of NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, whose term expires in October 2024, are officials from the Netherlands, Estonia, and Latvia.
Next October, the term of the current NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg expires. Currently, the main contenders for this position are leading government officials of the Netherlands, Estonia and Latvia. This was reported by the Voice of America, according to UNN.
Details
The appointment of a new NATO Secretary General is due only in July 2024, and Stoltenberg's term expires on October 1, 2024.
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Today, the main candidates include Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and current Latvian Foreign Minister Krisjanis Karinš.
Supplement
Recently, in a commentary to Dutch radio, Mark Rutte said that he is interested in the post of NATO Secretary General. At the same time, he suggested that another person could be in this chair and noted that there has never been a woman in the position before.
Kaja Kallas may also be considered for this position. While in Washington, she stated that she was interested in becoming NATO Secretary General.
In addition, in November, a spokeswoman for Latvian Foreign Minister Krisjanis Karinša said that "he is ready to join the competition."
According to the official statement, he "would offer the alliance his leadership experience as a prime minister, a clear understanding of the Russian threat, a strong position on Ukraine and a proven ability to build international consensus."
At the same time, Ukraine's representative to NATO, Natalia Galibarenko, said during a defense conference in Brussels on November 21 that she would like to see someone from Eastern Europe who has not yet led the organization as the head of the alliance.
As for me, any new secretary general who will defend Ukraine's interests and mobilize the Alliance to help us will be the best. So, whether it's Mark Rutte or someone else... But I think it's probably time for the Alliance to look at the Eastern Europe region. So, my preference, again, personal preference, was to see a representative of Eastern Europe as Secretary General, maybe even someone from the neighboring countries
To recap,
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said before the two-day meeting of the Alliance's foreign ministers that we should be prepared for intensified fighting in Ukraine, as well as for more air and missile attacks on Ukrainian cities.
