NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, whose term expires in the fall, is expected to remain in office for another year. On this subject informed EURACTIV portal in reference to four anonymous diplomats of the North Atlantic Alliance.
Former Norwegian Prime Minister Stoltenberg has served as NATO Secretary General since October 2014. In mid-May he said of his intention to leave his post in the fall and said he was confident that an “excellent successor” would be found to replace him.
However, on Wednesday June 28, Stoltenberg’s term is set to be extended, according to EURACTIV.
Potential successors include Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, British Defense Minister Ben Wallace and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, EURACTIV notes.
According to the portal, so far none of them have managed to gain the necessary level of support among NATO member countries.
NATO diplomats consider Stoltenberg’s ability to lead a military alliance in crisis situations to be “proven”, according to the portal.
“It’s not safe to change captains during a storm,” said a senior NATO official, who has not been named.
One of the NATO diplomats said the calm Stoltenberg maintained during the fall of Kabul in 2021 and the withdrawal of NATO troops from Afghanistan was much appreciated. Moreover, the alliance believes that the current secretary general “has not said a word too much since the start of the war in Ukraine”.
Stoltenberg’s term has already been extended several times – the last time after the start of the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Stoltenberg has served as Secretary General of NATO for almost nine years. In February, the newspaper Welt am Sonntag writing referring to high-ranking diplomats that there would be an unofficial agreement between NATO countries to extend Stoltenberg’s powers until April 2024.
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