Appointed As Secretary General Of NATO, Mark Rutte: Extraordinary Honor, This Is An Uncountable Responsibility

JAKARTA - Mark Rutte said the confidence of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in choosing him as secretary general was an extraordinary honor and he did not take it lightly, when the challenge in the future for the organization was not getting easier.

Rutte will replace current officials, Jens Stoltenberg starting October 1, after 32 members of the alliance agreed to support him.

"The North Atlantic Council (NATO) has decided to appoint Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte as the next Secretary-General of NATO, replacing Jens Stoltenberg," the alliance wrote on its website Wednesday, as quoted June 26.

"Rutte will carry out its function as Secretary-General from October 1, 2024, when Stoltenberg's term ends after ten years leading the Alliance," the announcement continued.

Rutte became the only candidate, after rival Romanian President Klaus Iohannis announced his resignation last week. Rutte said he hoped to accept the job "with great enthusiasm".

"The alliance is and will remain the foundation of our collective security. Leading this organization is a responsibility I don't take lightly," he wrote on X.

After expressing interest in the position last year, Rutte received initial support from the main members of the alliance including the United States, Britain, France, and Germany.

Rutte will face challenges to maintain allied support for Ukraine's fight against the Russian invasion while keeping NATO from being dragged directly into a war with Moscow.

He himself is known to be an ally of Ukraine and is one of the harsh critics of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Nearly 14 years as Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Rutte has been one of the driving forces behind European military support for Ukraine since the 2022 Russian invasion, saying defeats on the battlefield to Moscow are essential to securing peace in Europe.

NATO must be strong against Moscow, and other EU leaders should not be naive about Russia Putin, he said.

On the other hand, he is a strong supporter of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who he remembers met in Kyiv five years ago.

"It was clear even then, he was a man on a mission. I believe that Ukraine's success depends heavily on the mentality it showed from the start," Rutte told Reuters in April.

On the other hand, when warning about the threat posed by Putin, he had stated that the Russian leader was not as strong as he could be seen.

"Don't overestimate Putin. I've spoken a lot with the man. He's not a strong man, he's not a strong man," Rutte said in a debate with parliament in April.

"He will not stop in Ukraine, if we do not stop him now. This war is bigger than Ukraine itself. It is about enforcing international law," Rutte told the United Nations in September 2022, seven months after Russia's massive invasion.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also wrote on X to congratulate Rutte.

"I know Mark Rutte as a principled and strong leader, who has shown his assertiveness and vision on many occasions over the past few years," President Zelensky said.

Rutte also has to face the possibility that NATO skeptic Donald Trump will return to the White House after the US presidential election in November.

The possibility of Trump's return has made NATO leaders nervous as the former Republican president questioned the US's willingness to support members of other alliances if they were attacked.

Meanwhile, Stoltenberg said he warmly welcomed Rutte's election as his successor.

"Mark is a true transatlantic, strong leader, and consensus builder," he said.

"I know I handed NATO over to the right party," Stoltenberg said.

It is known that Rutte will inherit NATO, which is competing to improve its own security, as well as support Ukraine's defense of the Russian invasion.

The alliance is struggling to re-arrange and increase its military budget, while avoiding provocations against Moscow and enhancing what has become the deadliest war on European soil in decades.