Former Dutch prime minister Rutte becomes NATO secretary general

Brussels (dpa)  – Former Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte is now the secretary general of NATO after a handover ceremony at alliance headquarters in Brussels on Tuesday.

Rutte, who succeeded Norway‘s Jens Stoltenberg, thanked NATO allies for trusting him with the leadership role. “It is a big job, and I have big shoes to fill,” he said.

NATO’s 32 members appointed Rutte during the summer after the Dutch politician secured the early backing of the United States, Germany, and Britain despite his record of low defence spending in government.

Rutte takes over at a challenging time for the Western defence alliance, facing down the threat of a more aggressive Russia while supporting Ukraine in its defence against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s all-out invasion.

“There can be no lasting security in Europe without a strong, independent Ukraine,” Rutte told the alliance’s decision-making body, the North Atlantic Council (NAC).

Former NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg stepped down after 10 testing years for the alliance’s unity and purpose.

The changing of the NATO guard takes place as war rages directly on the alliance’s borders in Ukraine more than two years after the full-scale Russian invasion.

The war and increased threat of Russian revanchism renewed NATO’s Cold War purpose to protect members after years of turmoil during former US president Donald Trump’s presidency.

Trump railed against allies, especially Germany, for what he deemed as unacceptably low defence spending and questioned the alliance’s principle of collective defence.

French President Emmanuel Macron also infamously declared that the alliance was in danger of succumbing to “brain death,” such was the degree of division among NATO.

A chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 marked a low point for the alliance, just six months before Russian President Vladimir Putin’s fateful invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

NATO’s ‘transformational’ decade

In an essay to mark his departure, Stoltenberg described the last decade for NATO “as the most transformational” for the 32-member alliance since the Cold War.

Stoltenberg highlighted the new deployments of allied troops in Eastern Europe, the ramp up in defence industry production, and the fact that 23 allies are now spending at least 2% of their gross domestic product (GDP) on defence in 2024 – up from just three countries in 2014.

The former NATO secretary general was credited with moderating the debate over low defence spending by the European allies, which led to heated disputes during Trump’s time in office.

During Stoltenberg’s tenure NATO also welcomed four new allies, Montengro, North Macedonia, Finland and Sweden. Both Nordic countries abandoned years of neutrality after the all-out Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Stoltenberg’s skilful shepherding of Finland and Sweden into the alliance in the face of Turkish resistance was one of his crowning achievements.

Ankara pursued and received greater commitments from Sweden to combat terrorism alleging Stockholm’s support to groups Ankara labels as “terrorists” – primarily referring to the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

Following his time at NATO, Stoltenberg is expected to become the next chairman of the Munich Security Conference after its next international security gathering in February 2025, though the MSC has yet to officially confirm his appointment.

Rutte’s next challenge

A staunch supporter of Ukraine, allies extended Stoltenberg’s term in office just after the 2022 Russian invasion. NATO extended his tenure in 2023 again as allies were unable to agree on a suitable successor.

Rutte, a centre-right politician, was the longest-serving prime minister in Dutch history. His initial term as NATO secretary general is to be four years long.

The top NATO official is tasked with the political leadership of the alliance and ensuring consensus among allies, particularly when navigating complex issues during times of crisis.

In addition to support for Ukraine, the potential return of Trump to the White House in November would be a major test for Rutte. Past statements from Trump have cast doubt on US collective defence commitments to the alliance.

Arriving for the handover ceremony on Tuesday, Rutte said that he was not worried as he had worked with the US Republican presidential candidate before.

Trump pushed NATO allies to spend more on defence, Rutte said, stressing that this was now the case. “He was also pushing us on China, and I think he was right there,” he added.

NATO is also concerned about the rising military strength of Beijing and views China as a challenge to the alliance’s security.