Jens Stoltenberg to serve as NATO Secretary General for 10 years

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg will remain in his post for another year – until October 1, 2024. Stoltenberg himself wrote about this on July 4 on his Twitter page. “I am honored by the decision of NATO allies to extend my term as Secretary General,” he said. NATO also issued a statement according to which the heads of state and government of NATO will have to finally approve Stoltenberg in his post at the summit in Vilnius on July 11-12.

As the American newspaper The New York Times (NYT) reported on June 5, among the contenders for the post of Secretary General were Canadian Deputy Prime Minister of Ukrainian origin Chrystia Freeland, British Defense Minister Ben Wallace, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, Slovak President Zuzana Chaputova and ex-president of Croatia Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic. The United States did not nominate its own candidate, since by tradition it is an American general who commands the joint forces of NATO in Europe, and the political post of Secretary General is given to other members of the bloc. Nevertheless, they wrote in the NYT, the influence of the United States on the choice of a new Secretary General remains obvious.