Mark Rutte becomes NATO secretary general, succeeding Jens Stoltenberg

Former Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte took office as the new NATO secretary general on 1 October 2024, succeeding outgoing secretary general Jens Stoltenberg, whose term has ended after 10 years.

Stoltenberg formally handed over to Secretary General Rutte at a special session of the North Atlantic Council at the NATO Headquarters in Brussels.

“It is a great honour to be here and to take up the position of NATO secretary general,” Rutte said at the event before thanking the NATO allies for entrusting him with the responsibility of guiding the organisation in the coming years.

Secretary General Rutte outlined three key priorities for his tenure at the head of the Alliance. “The first is to keep NATO strong and ensure our defences remain effective and credible, against all threats,” he said. “My second priority is to step up our support for Ukraine and bring it ever closer to NATO, because there can be no lasting security in Europe without a strong, independent Ukraine,” he added, before noting that his third priority “is to strengthen our partnerships” in a more interconnected world.

Rutte also paid tribute to his predecessor, describing his tenure as “exemplary” and telling Stoltenberg, “Today, NATO is bigger, NATO is stronger and is more united than ever; that is in large part because of your leadership.”

In his farewell remarks Stoltenberg commended Rutte’s pragmatism and consensus-building skills while noting that “you don’t compromise on our values and principles”. He also praised his successor’s “personal commitment to our transatlantic bond” and his “unwavering support for Ukraine”.