NATO countries renew contract Secretary General Stoltenberg Xi’s speech could be decisive for Putin

Jens Stoltenberg will remain Secretary General of NATO for another year.

The member states had agreed to extend the Norwegian’s mandate until October 1, 2024, the defense alliance announced in Brussels on Tuesday. Previous attempts by member states to agree on another candidate had failed.

Stoltenberg himself had indicated several times in recent months that he actually had no new term in mind. According to information from his environment, he is now continuing “out of a sense of duty”.

The US government, in particular, has repeatedly praised the 64-year-old for his leadership since the start of Russia’s offensive war against Ukraine. Stoltenberg has done an “incredible job,” President Joe Biden said in mid-June.

In recent months, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace have been considered as possible candidates to succeed Stoltenberg. However, both were not without controversy.

The argument against Wallace in EU countries was that he was never head of state or government and was not from an EU country. Frederiksen’s opponents pointed out, among other things, that the important NATO post should not be filled again with someone from the north.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who may need a new job in just under three weeks after the early parliamentary elections, was recently mentioned as an alternative.

In view of the difficult search for a new NATO Secretary General, more and more politicians had recently opened up to a further extension of the Stoltenberg Treaty. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius recently said that if no agreement can be reached on the successor, the Western Defense Alliance cannot exist without its Secretary General. Therefore, he would be in favor of an extension, especially since he appreciates the collaboration with Stoltenberg.

Stoltenberg has been Secretary General of NATO for almost nine years now. His term was last extended for another year until September 30, 2023 in March 2022, shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

In fact, the former Norwegian head of government announced his departure last year. The plan was to go back home. Stoltenberg could have become head of the Norwegian central bank there.

Stoltenberg is already the second longest-serving Secretary General in the history of the alliance. The Dutchman Joseph Luns has long been the highest international official of the Alliance. He served from 1971 to 1984.

(saw/sda/dpa)