{"id":25049,"date":"2024-10-02T00:03:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-01T21:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/?p=25049"},"modified":"2024-10-01T21:20:53","modified_gmt":"2024-10-01T18:20:53","slug":"former-dutch-prime-minister-rutte-takes-natos-command-as-long-term-serving-chief-stoltenberg-steps-down","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/former-dutch-prime-minister-rutte-takes-natos-command-as-long-term-serving-chief-stoltenberg-steps-down\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Dutch Prime Minister Rutte takes NATO\u2019s command as long-term serving chief Stoltenberg steps down"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>3 minute read<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Former Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte officially assumed the role of NATO Secretary General on October 1, 2024, succeeding Jens Stoltenberg, who served a remarkable decade in the role.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>During a special session of the North Atlantic Council, Stoltenberg formally handed over the leadership to Rutte, who expressed his gratitude to NATO allies for entrusting him with this significant responsibility. \u201cIt is a great honor to be here and to take up the position of NATO Secretary General,\u201d Rutte stated, highlighting the weight of his new role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The transition ceremony was held at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, where Rutte was warmly welcomed by Stoltenberg. The two leaders honored fallen soldiers with a wreath-laying ceremony at the NATO Memorial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In his inaugural address, Secretary General Rutte laid out three core priorities for NATO. The first is to &#8220;keep NATO strong and ensure our defenses remain effective and credible, against all threats.\u201d His second priority focuses on intensifying support for Ukraine and fostering closer ties with the country, asserting that &#8220;there can be no lasting security in Europe without a strong, independent Ukraine.&#8221; Lastly, Rutte aims to &#8220;strengthen our partnerships&#8221; in an increasingly interconnected world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Today, Mark Rutte took office as NATO Secretary General.<br><br>Mr Rutte outlined his three priorities for NATO, paid tribute to his predecessor, Jens Stoltenberg, and thanked Allies for entrusting him with the responsibility of guiding the Alliance in the coming years \u2193<\/p>&mdash; NATO (@NATO) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NATO\/status\/1841122642905968669?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 1, 2024<\/a><\/blockquote> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n\n\n\n<p><br>Rutte also commended Stoltenberg\u2019s decade-long leadership, describing his tenure as \u201cexemplary.\u201d He acknowledged that under Stoltenberg\u2019s guidance, NATO has grown stronger and more united than ever. \u201cToday NATO is bigger, NATO is stronger and is more united than ever, that is in large part because of your leadership,\u201d Rutte remarked, paying tribute to his predecessor&#8217;s impactful service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Stoltenberg, in his farewell address, lauded Rutte&#8217;s pragmatic approach and consensus-building skills. He emphasized that Rutte embodies a commitment to the alliance&#8217;s values and principles, noting his &#8220;unwavering support for Ukraine\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br><strong>Continued support for Ukraine<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The handover was ceremonially marked by the passing of a historic gavel, symbolizing the transition of authority. This moment comes at a critical juncture for NATO, as the alliance faces heightened tensions with Russia, particularly concerning the situation in Ukraine, which approaches a third winter of conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rutte reiterated the importance of supporting Ukraine, framing it as an investment in Europe&#8217;s security. \u201cSupporting Ukraine is the right thing to do, and it is also an investment in our own security,\u201d he emphasized, underscoring that allowing Russia to succeed could have far-reaching consequences for the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Furthermore, Rutte called for NATO allies to significantly increase defense spending to effectively meet contemporary security challenges. He acknowledged past shortcomings in reaching NATO\u2019s defense expenditure target of 2% of GDP, a goal that the Netherlands is on track to achieve this year.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/NATO-Secretary-General-Rutte-with-Stoltenberg.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1016\" height=\"895\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/NATO-Secretary-General-Rutte-with-Stoltenberg.jpg?resize=1016%2C895&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Jens Stoltenberg waving goodbye to staff during a ceremony at NATO HQ with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte next to him clapping\" class=\"wp-image-25051\" style=\"width:839px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/NATO-Secretary-General-Rutte-with-Stoltenberg.jpg?resize=1024%2C902&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/NATO-Secretary-General-Rutte-with-Stoltenberg.jpg?resize=300%2C264&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/NATO-Secretary-General-Rutte-with-Stoltenberg.jpg?resize=768%2C677&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/NATO-Secretary-General-Rutte-with-Stoltenberg.jpg?resize=168%2C148&amp;ssl=1 168w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/NATO-Secretary-General-Rutte-with-Stoltenberg.jpg?w=1066&amp;ssl=1 1066w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1016px) 100vw, 1016px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em><sup>Jens Stoltenberg waving goodbye to staff during a ceremony at NATO HQ with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte next to him clapping. (Image Credit: X\/@NATO)<\/sup><\/em><br><br><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><br><strong>\u201cTeflon Mark\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>57-year-old Rutte, who had been the Dutch Prime Minister since 2010, resigned in July after his four-party coalition government collapsed over disagreements on migration policy. Known as \u201cTeflon Mark\u201d for his ability to navigate political scandals unscathed, Rutte is the longest-serving Prime Minister in the Netherlands. His extensive experience in governance will be crucial as he takes on the leadership of NATO amid a turbulent geopolitical landscape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Throughout his tenure as Prime Minister, Rutte has been a vocal supporter of Ukraine, particularly since Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion in February 2022. This support was a key factor in his pursuit of the NATO role. Earlier this month, he attended a summit in Switzerland, where he reiterated the Netherlands\u2019 commitment to supporting Ukraine \u201cfor as long as it takes and with all the backing that is necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Former Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte officially assumed the role of NATO Secretary General on October 1, 2024, succeeding Jens Stoltenberg, who served a remarkable decade in the role.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25050,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[62,1],"tags":[6,357,59,219,20,113,22],"class_list":["post-25049","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-europe","category-news","tag-defense","tag-europe","tag-nato","tag-netherlands","tag-russia","tag-security","tag-ukraine"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/NATO-SC-Stoltenberg-Rutte.jpg?fit=690%2C370&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7jJWb-6w1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25049","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25049"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25049\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25054,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25049\/revisions\/25054"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25050"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25049"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25049"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25049"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}