Dutch PM Mark Rutte poised to become next NATO secretary general

Mark Rutte, a staunch ally of Ukraine and a fierce critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, is set to become NATO's next secretary general, building on a career as a political dealmaker from his 14 years as Dutch prime minister.

Rutte's path to NATO's top job became clearer Thursday when Romanian President Klaus Iohannis publicly revealed he was withdrawing his bid for the leadership, after notifying the alliance as such last week. Only Romania had still been officially opposed to Rutte's candidacy.

Rutte, 57, has been one of the driving forces behind Europe's military support for Ukraine since Russia's 2022 invasion, and says defeat on the battlefield for Moscow is vital to secure peace in Europe.

His view is heavily influenced by the downing of an airliner over Ukraine in 2014, which the Netherlands blames on Russia, and in which 196 of the 298 victims were Dutch. NATO must be powerful to counter Moscow, and other European Union leaders must not be naive about Putin's Russia, he says.

"He won't stop at Ukraine, if we don't stop him now. This war is bigger than Ukraine itself. It's about upholding the international rule of law," Rutte told the United Nations in September 2022, seven months after Russia's full-scale invasion.

After the downing of flight MH17, he went from being primarily domestically focused to one of the EU's main dealmakers, playing an important role in European debates on immigration, debt and the response to COVID-19.

NATO members had been due to name a successor to Jens Stoltenberg when they met in Lithuania in July 2023, but no consensus could be found about a replacement. U.S. President Joe Biden will host NATO members July 9-11 in Washington, D.C., with the alliance's 75th anniversary to be hailed.

Rutte first took office in 2010 and went on to become the longest-serving Dutch prime minister before announcing last year that he planned to leave national politics.

Rutte had hinted he might enjoy teaching after politics, but he cited the war in Ukraine as the reason for seeking an international post as he set his sights on the NATO leadership.

Under his leadership, the Netherlands increased defence spending to more than the two per cent threshold of GDP desired of NATO members, providing F-16 fighter jets, artillery, drones and ammunition to Kyiv, and invested heavily in its own military.

In his last months in office, he also signed a 10-year security pact with Ukraine, guaranteeing support from the Netherlands despite criticism by far-right leader and election-winner Geert Wilders.

Rutte will step aside formally as prime minister of Netherlands when the recently forged right-wing Dutch government replaces his centre-right coalition.

His path to replace Stoltenberg, who steps down as NATO chief in October after nearly a decade at the helm, became more certain after Hungary and Slovakia indicated on Tuesday that they would back his nomination.

Stoltenberg said this week Rutte was a "very strong" candidate to replace him and a decision was near.