Mark Rutte, appointed Secretary General of NATO

Mark Rutte, the interim prime minister of the Netherlands, was appointed yesterday by the representatives of the 32 NATO member states to succeed Jens Stoltenberg as Secretary General of the alliance, according to an official statement issued by the institution whose headquarters is in Brussels. The appointment of Rutte had become a formality after his only rival for this position, the President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, had announced last week his withdrawal of candidacy, in the absence of sufficient support, notes the Reuters news agency.

However, in the spring the government in Budapest announced that it would not support Rutte for the post. The government in Sofia also expressed its dissatisfaction with the fact that the Netherlands is one of the two states that oppose Bulgaria's full accession to the Schengen area. Since then, following high-level negotiations and signals sent from Washington, Paris and Berlin, and Klaus Iohannis' withdrawal from the candidacy, the two states have changed their original position diametrically opposite.

According to the NATO statement, Mark Rutte will assume the position of Secretary General starting from October 1, 2024, when the mandate of Jens Stoltenberg, who led the political-military alliance for 10 years, expires.

Having declared his interest in the post last year, Rutte has gained early support from key members of the Alliance, primarily the United States, but also Britain, France and Germany.

Stoltenberg stated that he warmly welcomes the appointment of Rutte as his successor: "Mark is a true transatlantic, a strong leader and a consensus builder. I know that I am leaving leaving NATO in good hands".

Mark Rutte, who will leave the political scene in his country after almost 14 years as prime minister, is a strong critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin and a staunch ally of Ukraine. He will face the challenge of ensuring continued allied support for Kiev while avoiding drawing NATO into a direct war with Russia.

The future secretary general will also have to face a possible return of "NATO-skeptic" Donald Trump to the White House after the American presidential elections in November, adds Reuters.