Outgoing Dutch PM Mark Rutte seals Nato top job after lone rival drops out
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Outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte (left) will replace Mr Jens Stoltenberg (right) as Nato secretary-general in October, after Romanian President Klaus Iohannis dropped out.
PHOTO: AFP
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BUCHAREST - Outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on June 20 clinched the race to become the next head of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) at a pivotal time for the alliance, after sole challenger Romanian President Klaus Iohannis pulled out.
The 57-year-old veteran politician is expected to be formally named by Nato’s 32 nations in the coming days, and should take over when current chief Jens Stoltenberg’s term ends on Oct 1.
Mr Rutte will come in at a perilous moment for the Western allies as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
After staking his claim for the job in 2023 following the collapse of his coalition, staunch Ukraine backer Mr Rutte quickly won the support of heavyweights the US, Britain, France and Germany.
But he had to use all the diplomatic skills gleaned during almost 14 years in charge of the Netherlands to win over holdouts led by Turkey and Hungary.
He overcame Turkish reticence with an April visit to Istanbul before finally sealing a deal with Hungary’s Viktor Orban at a European Union summit this week.
That left the last sticking point as Mr Iohannis, whose surprise bid had ruffled feathers among allies banking on a smooth appointment for Mr Rutte ahead of a Nato summit in Washington in July.
Romania’s security council on June 20 announced that Mr Iohannis had formally withdrawn and the country backed Mr Rutte.
Trump looming?
Mr Rutte will have a lot on his plate when he assumes the reins from Norway’s former premier Mr Stoltenberg, who led the alliance through its most consequential decades since the end of the Cold War.
Just weeks after his four-year term is expected to start, voters in the US will go to the polls
The prospect of the volatile former president returning to the Oval Office has rattled allies fearful that he could weaken superpower Washington’s role as Europe’s ultimate security guarantor.
Trump fuelled those fears on the campaign trail by saying he would encourage Russia to attack Nato countries
Like Mr Stoltenberg, Mr Rutte won plaudits for his careful handling of Trump during his first term in power – when the former reality TV star reportedly even mulled over pulling the US out of Nato.
“I think Mark Rutte is a very strong candidate,” Mr Stoltenberg said on a visit to Washington on June 18. “He has a lot of experience as prime minister. He is a close friend and colleague.”
Mr Rutte (left) during a visit to the embattled Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, near the Russian border, on March 1, 2024, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
PHOTO: REUTERS
While Trump’s return could pose one major challenge, to Nato’s east, Mr Rutte will face a far more pressing menace from Russia’s President Vladimir Putin.
The Kremlin’s forces are currently on the front foot in Ukraine after more than two years of brutal conflict, and the Nato chief will have a key role marshalling aid from Kyiv’s weary backers.
At the same time, Mr Rutte will have to ensure the alliance is ready to defend against any potential future attack from Moscow – if, or more likely when, Mr Putin is able to rebuild his forces.
Part of that will involve corralling European allies to spend more on defence – a key demand from Trump and other US leaders.
This week, Nato announced that 23 out of its 32 member countries had hit the alliance’s target of spending 2 per cent of their gross domestic product on defence.
‘Teflon Mark’
Dubbed “Teflon Mark” for his ability to remain in power for so long in the Netherlands, Mr Rutte will become the fourth Dutchman to lead Nato since it emerged from the ashes of World War II to confront the Soviet Union.
The bicycling conservative threw his country’s economic weight behind Ukraine in the wake of Russia’s 2022 invasion, leading efforts to deliver F-16 fighter jets to Kyiv.
While Nato countries along the alliance’s eastern flank had pushed for one of their own to get the Nato job, Mr Rutte’s backers insist he is fully aware of the threat posed by Russia.
Among the most formative events during his time in charge of the Netherlands was the 2014 shooting down of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17
