Dutchman Mark Rutte is to become Nato's next chief, the defence alliance has announced in a statement.
"I know I'm leaving Nato in good hands", outgoing Jens Stoltenberg writes on X.
Nato's 32 member states have formally approved Rutte as their next secretary-general. He will take over from Norwegian Stoltenberg, who will leave his post on 1 October after ten years.
On X, Stoltenberg congratulates his successor, whom he calls "a true friend of transatlantic cooperation" and "a strong leader". Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (M) also sends congratulations to Rutte via X.
Zelenskyj congratulates
The appointment was expected, as the Dutchman had long been the favourite to take the defence alliance's top post. The only remaining obstacle – Hungary – gave Rutte the green light earlier in June, and last week the only remaining rival, Romanian Klaus Iohannis, threw in the towel.
Rutte is described as one of Ukraine's most loyal allies and one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's sharpest critics. After the appointment, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj congratulates and praises Rutte on X as a "principled and strong leader" who has shown his determination several times in recent years.
Russia's Kremlin spokesman Dmitrij Peskov claims that Rutte's appointment "changes nothing", according to AFP.
Leader for another week
Rutte is a seasoned diplomat who has previously managed to wrap around his finger, among others, US ex-president Donald Trump, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Hungarian Viktor Orbán, writes Politico.
The 57-year-old from The Hague has been the Netherlands' prime minister since 2010, but will hand over power to his successor Dick Schoof in just over a week.
As prime minister, Rutte has been seen as a coalition-builder, but has also been accused of being more interested in power than in political principles.
Mark Rutte was born in The Hague, Netherlands, on 14 February 1967.
Between 2006 and 2023, he was the leader of the right-liberal VVD (People's Party for Freedom and Democracy) and the Netherlands' prime minister between 2010 and 2 July 2024, when his successor Dick Schoof was formally sworn in.
He is thus the Dutch leader who has held the post the longest, and also the second-longest in the EU after Hungary's Viktor Orbán.
Father Izaak Rutte (1909-88) was active in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) and lost his first wife, with whom he had three children, in a Japanese internment camp in 1945. He then married her sister Mieke (1923-2020) and had four more children, including Mark.
One of the siblings, brother Wim, died of AIDS in the 1980s. In interviews, Rutte has described the loss of his father and brother as life-changing.
The 57-year-old Rutte is unmarried and has no children.
