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June 27 2024
NATO: Mark Rutte, the long-serving Dutch prime minister, was formally named NATO's new secretary general on Wednesday, adding an experienced, strongly pro-Ukrainian leader with a reputation for compromise at the head of the alliance.
At 57 years old, Rutte is set to succeed Jens Stoltenberg this October. 1, a difficult time for NATO in the wake of Russia's war against Ukraine and amid a tight presidential contest in the U.S. that could return alliance-humiliated Donald Trump to power. The decision, taken by NATO ambassadors during a meeting at the 32-nation alliance's headquarters in Brussels, removes a potentially contentious issue from the alliance's 75th anniversary meeting in Washington next month.
US President Biden and his NATO counterparts will formally welcome Rutte at the summit starting on July 9.
Rutte, Biden's favorite for the post, served as Dutch PM four times for nearly 14 years, building complex coalitions through debate and compromise. These skills should serve him well in a coalition that works by consensus, where one country can sway the intentions of the rest.
Rutte rejected Biden’s request that he seek the NATO job at least once first, forcing the alliance to extend Stoltenberg’s term for an additional year.
Now serving as caretaker prime minister before a new Dutch government is sworn in, Rutte is known as a hardworking but affable boss. He's a man who loves routine, taking after his father who was a car dealer. For the last 30 years, he's found comfort in the familiar surroundings of his modest home, furnished just the way it's always been. Every summer, he rents the same house with family members and spends a few days with the same friends in New York each year, staying at the same modest hotel in Chinatown, Caroline de Gruyter, Europe correspondent for Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad, wrote in Foreign Policy.
He is also known to cycle to work, a habit that will have to change as his new job will require him to face heightened security wherever he goes. He will also have to give up a weekly social studies class he has taught for years at a high school in The Hague.
Rutte will take office at a time when NATO is struggling to find a way to reassure Ukraine of its long-term commitment to its security, at a time when the country faces growing Russian pressure after more than two years of war.
Allies are also concerned that Trump, who has been openly hostile toward NATO and some of its leaders, could win back the presidency, although Rutte enjoyed a good relationship with Trump during his tenure.
In February, speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Rutte called on Europeans to "stop moaning, whining and complaining about Trump" and instead act in their own interests by strengthening their militaries and producing more ammunition for Ukraine.
He said it was Americans who would decide the next president, adding: "I'm not American, I can't vote in America. We need to cooperate with whoever is currently on the dance floor."
Rutte's view of the Kremlin was heavily influenced by the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine, in which 196 Dutch people were among the 298 people on board killed by a Russian antiaircraft missile provided by the Russian military to separatist forces.
In September 2022, Rutte told the UN about President Putin: "If we don't stop him now he won't stop at Ukraine either. This war is bigger than Ukraine. It's about upholding the rule of international law." He has described Putin as "merciless, cruel, ruthless". Under Rutte's leadership, the Netherlands has raised military spending to more than the 2% of GDP demanded of NATO members, and it has provided Kyiv with F-16s, artillery, The country is putting more effort into strengthening its military, with a focus on drones, ammunition, and increased investments in its own armed forces.
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