The ambassadors of the 32 Member States have unanimously formalized – at the meeting of the Atlantic Council this Wednesday – the appointment of the outgoing Dutch Prime Minister as new secretary general of the Atlantic Alliance. Rutte will take over his duties from October 1, 2024, replacing the Norwegian Jens Stoltenberg, who has been in office for 10 years.
“It is a tremendous honor to be appointed Secretary General of NATO. The Alliance is and will continue to be the cornerstone of our security “Leading this organization is a responsibility I do not take lightly. I am grateful to all of the partners who have placed their trust in me. I look forward to taking office with great vigor in October as the successor to Stoltenberg, who has provided outstanding leadership over the past 10 years,” Rutte said.
The president of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, who also sounded like a candidate a few months ago, was one of the first to congratulate the new secretary general. “Your leadership and experience will be crucial to the Alliance during these difficult times. I look forward to working with you to further strengthen the EU-NATO partnership,” The German tweeted.
The handover comes days before the Atlantic Alliance summit in Washington, in which it commemorates its 75th anniversary and plans to redouble its support for Ukraine.
The Dutch prime minister, who rejected a first offer to be the head of NATO, has had to work very hard this time to get the position. He has achieved it after his only declared rival, the Romanian president, withdrew last Thursday. Klaus Iohanniswho remained until the end despite the fact that his candidacy has not achieved support.
In his seduction offensive, Rutte has had to convince those who were initially declared enemies, such as the Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. However, the obstacle that has been most difficult for him to overcome has been that of the Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán.
At a heated summit in June 2021, Rutte showed Orbán the exit door from the EU for having approved anti-LGBT legislation (which has been brought before European justice by Brussels for being incompatible with European values). “The long-term goal is to bring Hungary to its knees on this issue“, they claim that Rutte also said during the closed-door debate.
The Government of Budapest has never forgotten these words and has forced the Dutchman to apologize. He did so in person before Orbán at a meeting last Monday in Brussels, and also by letter. “As we have discussed, I have noted that some statements What I did in 2021 as Prime Minister of the Netherlands caused displeasure in Hungary. “My priority in a possible future position as Secretary General of NATO will be to maintain unity and treat all allies with the same level of understanding and respect,” Rutte says in his letter.
Furthermore, the new Secretary General of NATO has agreed to give differentiated treatment to Hungary, which will not participate in any way in the training of Ukrainian troops or in the shipment of military equipment to kyiv.
The Dutchman is one of the most senior members of the European Council (only surpassed by Orbán himself), since he has served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands since 2010. In his position He has led coalition governments of all colors (both with the extreme right and with the social democrats) and has survived all kinds of political crises.
In fact, Rutte has been nicknamed the Mr. Teflon (for his ability to emerge unscathed from all the scandals) and also as the Mr. Normal, for his austere lifestyle comparable to that of any ordinary Dutchman. In fact, he has always liked to cycle to work despite being the prime minister.
His father was a merchant and his mother a secretary and he is the youngest of seven siblings. He studied history at the University of Leiden and his political vocation is early: he became president of the liberal youth at the age of 21.
However, before holding any public position, he worked for 10 years in private companies, specifically in the human resources department of the multinational Unilever.
Between 2002 and 2006, he was Secretary of State for Employment and Social Affairs and then for Education and Culture in the Governments led by the Christian Democrat Jan Peter Balkenende. In 2006 he became president of the liberal party and in 2010 he won the elections for the first time and formed his first coalition government.
Despite his job as prime minister, Rutte works two hours a week as a teacher at a secondary school in The Hague. There he teaches Dutch and social studies, as he boasts on his resume.
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