NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg will complete his term as scheduled in October, NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said.
The statement came after the Welt am Sonntag newspaper reported on his upcoming term extension.
“General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg’s term has been extended three times and has served in total for almost nine years,” Lungescu said on Saturday. “The Secretary-General’s term ends in October and he does not intend to seek a further extension of his term.”
Earlier, Welt am Sonntag announced that Stoltenberg’s term would be extended once again as the alliance seeks to maintain stability as war in Ukraine rages on.
Stoltenberg, a trained economist and former leader of the Workers’ Party of Norway, extended his term at NATO last year.
He served as Prime Minister of Norway in 2000-01 and 2005-13 before becoming head of NATO in 2014. He also served as Norway’s Minister of Finance and Minister of Energy.
Welt am Sonntag reports that members of the alliance would like to give Stoltenberg the opportunity to chair the organization’s 75th anniversary summit to be held in Washington in April 2024. According to the publication, he may also become the head of the World Bank when David Malpas leaves office.
No decision has yet been made on Stoltenberg’s successor, but Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace are among the main contenders for , Welt am Sonntag notes.
