New NATO Secretary General Rutte Officially Takes Over From Stoltenberg, Pledges Support for Ukraine

On Tuesday, former Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte officially took over as NATO Secretary General from his predecessor, Jens Stoltenberg.

This was reported by the NATO website and Reuters.

The handover ceremony took place at a meeting of the North Atlantic Council at NATO headquarters in Brussels. 

The new head of the Alliance expressed strong support for Ukraine and said he was not worried about the upcoming US elections, as he could work with former President Donald Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris.

‘We have to make sure that Ukraine wins as a sovereign, independent, democratic nation,’ he said.

In his farewell speech, Stoltenberg said it had been an honour to serve NATO for 10 years.

‘Now it's time for me to leave and for you to begin your term as NATO Secretary General,’ Stoltenberg said to Rutte, who was sitting next to him.

To mark the handover, Stoltenberg handed Rutte a gavel that was donated to NATO by Iceland in 1963. 

‘It is used at special NATO meetings. The last time it was used was when we had our last ministerial meeting at the old NATO headquarters. And today we are using it again,’ Stoltenberg said, handing over the gavel to Rutte and inviting him to take the chair of the North Atlantic Council.

Stoltenberg also expressed confidence that NATO will be in good hands with the Dutchman at the helm.