(Brussels) NATO will officially appoint Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte as its head on Wednesday, we learned from diplomatic sources on Tuesday.
The ambassadors of the 32 NATO countries will ratify this appointment during a meeting of the North Atlantic Council, the political governing body of the Alliance, according to several diplomats in Brussels.
The path was clear for Mr Rutte after last week’s withdrawal of Romanian President Klaus Iohannis’ candidacy.
Rutte, 57, is expected to take up his post as NATO Secretary General on October 1, replacing Norwegian Jens Stoltenberg, who was appointed in 2014 and whose mandate has been renewed four times.
He will take the helm of the Atlantic Alliance in a world in full political uncertainty, on both sides of the Atlantic, and in a Europe at war.
In addition to the conflict in Ukraine, he could have to deal with a new presidency of Donald Trump, if the American billionaire, very critical of the role of NATO, were to return to the White House after the elections in November.