(Photo: Mark Rutte. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 – Arno Mikkor, EU2017EE Presidency Estonia).
by Alberto Galvi * –
BORN. The outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Rutte was supported by the main powers of the organization
Outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte is backed by major NATO powers as a candidate for general secretary at a crucial time. In particular, the United States, United Kingdom, France and Germany have indicated Rutte as the successor to the current secretary Jens Stoltenberg, who will end his mandate which began in 2014 next October.
The new secretary general will take office at a time of intense activity for the Atlantic Alliance due above all to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, with the risk that this could spread or have direct repercussions on member countries.
Rutte is the only official candidate for the position, but Romanian President Klaus Iohannis’ name has also cropped up recently in informal discussions. Other candidates could include Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas and Latvian Foreign Minister Krisjanis Karins. But with the support of Washington, three of Europe’s major nations and about 16 other NATO members, Rutte is the candidate, even if he may face opposition from Turkey and Hungary.
NATO was founded in 1949 to counter the Soviet Union during the Cold War. It is a political-military alliance of countries in North America and Europe. It currently has 31 members and Sweden is expected to join soon.
Enshrined in Article 5 of the founding treaty is the principle of collective defense, according to which an attack on one member is considered an attack on all. NATO leaders are appointed by consensus, meaning that all members must agree to the final decision.
At the 2008 NATO summit, held in Bucharest, the accession of Ukraine and Georgia, two ex-Soviet republics, was decided.
The following are NATO member countries: Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, France, Finland, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Norway, the Netherlands, Poland , Portugal, United Kingdom, Czech Republic, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain, United States, Turkey, Hungary.