The Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, was appointed as the new Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), this Wednesday (26), replacing Norwegian Jens Stoltenberg, who will leave the position this year after a decade at the helm of the alliance.
The change in command comes at a crucial time for Europe’s security, amid rising tensions with Russia.
Rutte’s appointment was approved by the military alliance’s ambassadors during a meeting at NATO headquarters with the 32 member countries in Brussels. US President Joe Biden will meet with his counterparts in an official ceremony in Washington on July 9, 10 and 11.
While he was prime minister, Rutte showed himself as a staunch ally of Ukraine amid the Russian invasion and an outspoken critic of dictator Vladimir Putin.
The main challenges facing NATO are to maintain the support of the Kiev government’s allies, despite pressure and threats from Moscow, while also protecting member countries from any escalation that could lead the military alliance directly to a war in Russia. Europe.
Mark Rutte first assumed the role of prime minister in 2010 and left the Dutch leadership in July last year following disagreements within his coalition over plans to curb immigration into the country.
On the occasion, the prime minister, a member of the Popular Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD, center-right), tried to pass a proposal to the three other parties in the government coalition to establish a system with the aim of limiting the number of children coming from areas of conflict eligible for asylum in the Netherlands.
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