The NATO member states extended the mandate of the Norwegian Jens Stoltenberg as Secretary General of the Alliance for one year this Tuesday, so that he will continue to lead the transatlantic organization until October 1, 2024.
“Honored by the decision of the NATO allies to extend my term as Secretary General until October 1, 2024,” Stoltenberg wrote on his Twitter social network profile.
Honoured by #NATO Allies' decision to extend my term as Secretary General until 1 October 2024. The transatlantic bond between Europe & North America has ensured our freedom & security for nearly 75 years, and in a more dangerous world, our Alliance is more important than ever.
— Jens Stoltenberg (@jensstoltenberg) July 4, 2023
The former Norwegian prime minister added that the transatlantic link between Europe and North America “has guaranteed our freedom and security for almost 75 years.”
“In a more dangerous world, our Alliance is more important than ever,” he said.
Allied sources had already advanced to the EFE news agency last week that Stoltenberg would continue for another year at the head of the Alliance. Then, they detailed that the renewal was not yet official, although it was “very advanced”.
In fact, they already indicated that the official announcement of the renewal would take place this week if there were no unforeseen events.
In a statement, NATO said that the decision taken today at the North Atlantic Council, which brings together the member states, will be endorsed by the leaders of the allied countries at the Vilnius summit, which will be held on July 11 and 12.
Leadership to “preserve transatlantic unity”
The Alliance added that the allies “thanked the secretary-general for his leadership and commitment, which has been critical in preserving transatlantic unity in the face of unprecedented security challenges.”
Before the renewal, the mandate of the Norwegian politician at the head of the transatlantic organization ended on September 30.
Debates have been raging for months over whether NATO countries would choose a successor or whether to extend Stoltenberg’s term yet again.
Finally, the member states of the Alliance have agreed that Stoltenberg will continue for another year as NATO Secretary General, a position he has held since October 2014.
In those almost nine years, its mandate has been renewed several times. In fact, NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu indicated on Twitter that Stoltenberg’s renewal as Secretary-General announced today is the fourth.
Despite the renewal, Stoltenberg had assured in recent weeks that he was not seeking a new extension to his term.
However, on June 15 he also admitted that he is “responsible for all the decisions that this Alliance has to make, except for one, and that is the one that deals with my future.”
“That is up to the 31 allies to decide,” he said then.
