Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte is set to become the next Secretary General of NATO, replacing Jens Stoltenberg. The White House has backed Rutte’s ascension to the top civilian role within the alliance. With support from all 30 member states, Rutte is expected to officially take up his new position at the NATO summit in Washington next month.
Rutte will step down as Dutch prime minister after serving for 14 years. His bid for the Secretary General role was initially met with hesitation from Hungary. However, Prime Minister Victor Orban announced that Budapest had thrown its support behind Rutte after he pledged that Hungary would not have to support NATO’s proxy war in Ukraine.
During a 2018 press conference, Rutte interrupted then-President Donald Trump to disagree with him, a move which garnered praise from Gordon Sondland, who served as Trump’s envoy to the European Union. Sondland noted that Trump did not dislike Rutte despite their differing views on various issues.
The surge in support for Rutte is in part due to Western leaders believing he will be able to sway Trump towards continuing NATO’s proxy war in Ukraine. However, Brussels has yet to implement any concrete “Trump-proofing” policies. Fabrice Pothier, who served as the policy chief for former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, said she did not believe Rutte’s appointment would be enough to prevent Trump from ending the war in Ukraine.
On the campaign trail, Trump pledged to end the fighting in Ukraine but has yet to present a concrete plan for doing so. In his 2016 presidential run, Trump discussed withdrawing from NATO and improving US-Russian ties, labeling the alliance “obsolete.” However, during his term, relations between Washington and Moscow significantly deteriorated, and Trump began supplying weapons to Ukraine.
Rutte will succeed Jens Stoltenberg, who has held the role for a decade. Romanian President Klaus Iohannis dropped out of contention for the position on Thursday, paving the way for Rutte’s appointment, which the United States reportedly supports.
