On Wednesday, long-time Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte was officially appointed as the new NATO Secretary-General, meaning that the experienced leader, who strongly supports Ukraine and is known for his mediation, will become the leader of NATO.
Mr. Rutte, 57, will take over from Jens Stoltenberg on Oct. 1 at a difficult time for NATO, facing Russia’s war in Ukraine and amid a closely contested U.S. presidential race that could see Donald J. Trump, who has disparaged NATO, return to power.
The decision, signed by NATO ambassadors at a meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels, removes a potentially contentious issue at next month’s NATO 75th anniversary summit in Washington.
President Biden and his NATO counterparts will formally welcome Mr Rutte to their ranks at the July 9 summit.
Rutte, long a top pick for Biden, served four terms as Dutch prime minister for nearly 14 years, building complex coalitions through debate and compromise. Those skills should serve him well in a consensus-based alliance in which one country can thwart the intentions of others.
Rutte has rejected Biden’s request to run for the post of NATO Secretary-General at least once, forcing NATO to extend Stoltenberg’s term by one year.
Mr. Rutte, who is currently serving as caretaker prime minister until the new Dutch government is sworn in, is known for his hard work and affability. Mr. Rutte is a man of habit, the son of a car dealer, and has lived in the same modest house with the same furniture for the past 30 years.
“Every summer he rented the same house with his family, every year he spent a few days in New York with the same friends, staying in the same modest hotel in Chinatown,” Caroline de Gruyter, European correspondent for the Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad, wrote in 2009. Foreign Policy.
He also likes to ride his bike to work, but that habit had to change because his new job required him to endure tighter security measures wherever he went. He also had to give up the weekly sociology class he had taught for many years at a high school in The Hague.
Rutte takes office as NATO struggles to find ways to reassure Ukraine of its long-term commitment to its security, which is facing increasing pressure from Russia after more than two years of war.
Allies also worry that Trump, who is openly hostile to NATO and some of its leaders, could win back the presidency despite Rutte’s Get along well During Trump’s term.
In February this year, Rutte gave a speech at the Munich Security Conference, asking Europeans to “stop complaining, grumbling and nagging about Trump” and instead act in their own interests, strengthen their military and produce more ammunition for Ukraine.
He said Americans will decide the next president, adding: “I’m not an American, I can’t vote in America, we have to work with whoever is on the dance floor.”
Rutte, a favorite of NATO powers but one who needs unanimity, agreed last week to abide by a compromise reached between Stoltenberg and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban that effectively locked him into the secretary-general post.
Hungary’s illiberal democracy, which Orban champions, has for years been a source of tension between Hungary and the EU’s longest-serving leaders, including Rutte.
Rutte assured Orban, who has close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin and believes Ukraine should negotiate a settlement with Moscow, that Hungarian personnel would not take part in NATO missions supporting Ukraine and that no Hungarian funds would be used to support them.
Another skeptical country, Slovakia, then agreed to back Rutte, and the final hurdle was cleared when Romania’s president gave up his bid for coalition leadership.
Rutte’s view of the Kremlin was deeply affected by the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 over Ukraine in 2014, when anti-aircraft missiles supplied by the Russian military to the separatists killed 298 people, including 196 Dutch nationals.
In September 2022, seven months after Russia invaded Ukraine, Rutte said of Putin at the United Nations: “If we don’t stop him now, he will not stop in Ukraine. This war is bigger than Ukraine itself. This is about upholding the international rule of law.” He described Putin as “callous, brutal and cruel.”
Under Rutte, the Netherlands has increased military spending to above the 2 percent of gross domestic product required of NATO members and has supplied Kiev with F-16 fighter jets, artillery, drones and ammunition while investing more in its own military.
In the Netherlands, he is known as “Teflon Mark” because of his ability to strike compromises and get out of difficult situations. His skills will be tested in his new role, not least because the job of NATO secretary-general is not to lead the vast and diverse alliance but to keep it together.
