NATO Secretary General Rutte Appoints North Macedonian as His Deputy

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has decided to appoint Radmila Shekerinska from North Macedonia as the next Deputy Secretary General of the Alliance, the NATO press service has reported.

Shekerinska previously served as Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration and Minister of Defence of North Macedonia, including on the eve of the country's accession to NATO in 2020.

‘I am delighted to announce the appointment of Radmila Šekerinska as the next Deputy Secretary General. She truly believes in NATO, knows the work that needs to be done to join the Alliance and what it means to be a full member. I look forward to working with her in this vital position,’ said Rutte.

In an interview after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Shekerinska rejected Russia's claim that NATO's eastward expansion was a ‘sinister plan of the West’.

Shekerinska will take up her post at the end of this year.

The main role of the NATO deputy secretary general is to stand in for the boss and preside over the bi-weekly North Atlantic Council meetings, which are attended by 32 ambassadors, or any emergency meetings, including the NATO-Ukraine Council.

Former NATO spokesperson Oana Lungescu said earlier that the post of deputy secretary general could go to an Eastern European woman due to public pressure.

Former NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoană has resigned from his post and is running for the Romanian presidency.