BRUSSELS — Jens Stoltenberg, the NATO secretary basic, lastly gave in. Having beforehand introduced that he would go away the job this September, he reversed himself on Tuesday and mentioned that he had agreed to increase his mandate one other yr, till October 2024.
In a Twitter message, Mr. Stoltenberg confirmed what had come to appear inevitable, saying: “Honoured by #NATO Allies’ decision to extend my term as Secretary General until 1 October 2024.”
His reappointment takes a contentious challenge off the agenda of NATO’s yearly summit assembly, scheduled for subsequent week in Vilnius, Lithuania. The assembly is designed to indicate trans-Atlantic unity and solidarity in help for Ukraine because it battles Russia’s invasion.
The Biden administration has been unenthusiastic about different candidates for the job whereas the battle in Ukraine nonetheless rages, and France and different members of the European Union had made it clear that they’d not settle for a non-E.U. determine within the function, such because the British protection secretary, Ben Wallace.
The prime minister of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen, went to Washington final month to fulfill with President Biden and American officers, however she later mentioned that she was now not a candidate to be NATO secretary basic and would again Mr. Stoltenberg if he was prepared to increase his tenure.
Mr. Stoltenberg, 64, a former Norwegian prime minister, has served within the job since 2014 and has had his mandate prolonged thrice. He has earned the belief of allies, significantly Washington, by his calm demeanor, his public humility and his means to navigate the calls for of what are actually 31 member states in a corporation that runs by consensus.
He was significantly praised for his means to work with former President Donald J. Trump, whose contempt for NATO was usually on show.
Mr. Stoltenberg is now anticipated to preside over his final summit in Washington subsequent yr, which will even mark NATO’s seventy fifth anniversary. That is, until he’s requested to increase his mandate as soon as once more.
Source: www.nytimes.com