Dutch PM Mark Rutte poised to become next NATO secretary general
CBC
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.
The former secretary general of NATO says he doesn't think allies will be pulled further into the conflict in the Middle East, but he's concerned the ongoing war with Iran will benefit Russia's economy and take the world's attention away from the invasion of Ukraine.
As American and Israeli strikes pound Iran — while it attacks shipping and energy infrastructure across the Persian Gulf — U.S. President Donald Trump made a new threat to Tehran's leaders.
The armed man who rammed his vehicle into one of the largest Reform synagogues in the U.S. Thursday has been identified as a 41-year-old naturalized citizen born in Lebanon, according to federal officials.
With jagged cliffs rising from the Arabian Sea, the Strait of Hormuz is striking in its scenery — and these days, its emptiness. This resource superhighway, which normally hosts more than a hundred of the world’s largest oil and liquid natural gas (LNG) tankers every day, has seen no more than a handful all week.
The Canadian government said Tuesday it is alarmed by the escalation of violence and attacks in Lebanon, as the war in the Middle East expands.
In a resounding victory that is guaranteed to reshape Nepal's politics, rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah appeared headed for a landslide win in the South Asian country's first polls since youth-led protests toppled the previous government last fall.
China’s latest blueprint for driving growth in its economy was largely written before the U.S. and Israel instigated the most far-reaching war in the Middle East in decades.
U.S. President Donald Trump's firing of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Thursday overshadowed the announcement of his plans to nominate Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin as her successor.
The truck carrying Nepali prime ministerial candidate Balendra Shah was swarmed by cheering supporters in the capital, Kathmandu, on Saturday, unable to inch forward as the former rapper, wearing sunglasses and a sleek black suit, danced on top of the roof.
Israel sent troops into southern Lebanon on Tuesday and warned residents of more than 80 villages to evacuate as the Iran-backed militant Hezbollah group said it was ready for an "open war" with Israel in the wake of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.
U.S. President Donald Trump has given Americans a short list of his objectives in attacking Iran, but when it comes to the justification for launching the war and how the conflict is expected to play out, he and his team are sending mixed messages.
Omid Golabkesh dragged his suitcase down a long hallway marking the exit of the Kapikoy border crossing in eastern Turkey. He had nearly reached the end of an exhausting journey that included a 12-hour drive to the checkpoint from his home in Tehran.