Mark Rutte will be the next NATO Secretary General: what we know about him
26 June 2024 12:26
The North Atlantic Council has appointed Mark Rutte to the post of NATO Secretary General, reports "Komersant Ukrainian" reports citing the Alliance’s press service.
Rutte will take up his duties on 1 October, when the term of the current Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg expires.
Rutte’s chances of being elected Secretary General were maximised after Romanian President Klaus Iohannis withdrew his candidacy and Hungary withdrew its objections to Rutte’s appointment.
As usual, Hungary’s objections were related to Ukraine. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban demanded that Rutte confirm the promise that the current Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg had allegedly made to him. Hungary was allegedly promised not to be involved in NATO’s activities in Ukraine and not to use Hungarian money to help Ukraine. Rutte, according to Orban, confirmed this promise.
Who is Mark Rutte?
Mark Rutte is a Dutch politician born on 14 February 1967 in The Hague, the Netherlands. He is the youngest of seven children in a Protestant family. Rutte was educated at Leiden University, where he studied history, graduating in 1992.
After graduation, Rutte worked at Unilever, where he was a human resources manager from 1997. His political career began as a student, when he headed the youth organisation of the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy from 1988 to 1991.
In 2002, Rutte entered national politics as State Secretary for Social Affairs and Employment in the first government of Jan Peter Balkenende. He subsequently served as State Secretary for Higher Education and Research, Education, Culture and Science from 2004 to 2006. In 2006, Rutte became the leader of the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy, holding this position until 2023.
on 14 October 2010, Mark Rutte became Prime Minister of the Netherlands, becoming the first head of government from the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy and the first prime minister not from the Christian Democratic Party or the Labour Party since 1918. He remains in office to this day.
In October 2023, Rutte announced his intention to run for the post of NATO Secretary General. His candidacy was initially supported by the governments of the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and France.
Mark Rutte is a great friend of Ukraine. Under his presidency, the Netherlands is among the countries that make the largest contribution to financial and military assistance to Ukraine during a full-scale war. In January 2023, Mark Rutte was awarded the Ukrainian Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, first class.
