The North Atlantic Council has decided to appoint outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte as Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), NATO announced in a statement on Wednesday.
BRUSSELS, June 26 (Xinhua) — The North Atlantic Council has decided to appoint outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte as secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), it was announced Wednesday NATO in a press release.
She said he will take office on October 1, the date on which Jens Stoltenberg’s mandate ends after ten years at the head of the alliance.
On June 19, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis officially announced his withdrawal from the race for the post of NATO Secretary General. As a result, Mr Rutte gained the support of all 32 member countries.
The Netherlands is a founding member of NATO. The 57-year-old Dutch leader, whose 14-year term as Dutch prime minister is set to end in the coming weeks, will be the fourth Dutchman to lead the 75-year-old alliance.
The Secretary General of NATO is responsible for coordinating the alliance and is one of NATO’s top officials, along with the Chairman of the NATO Military Committee and the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe.
 Outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte appointed NATO secretary general – Xinhua){kind=link}