THE HAGUE, Netherlands In more than a dozen years at the top of Dutch politics, Mark Rutte has learned a thing or two about finding consensus between conflicting coalition partners. He will now bring his experience of leading four Dutch multi-party governments to the international stage as the new Secretary General of NATO.
NATO ambassadors on Wednesday nominated the outgoing Dutch prime minister as the alliance's next secretary general, its highest civilian post. Rutte is expected to take charge of the world's largest military organization from October.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Mark was a true transatlantic, a strong leader and consensus builder. “I wish him every success as we continue to strengthen NATO to face the challenges of today and tomorrow. I know I am leaving NATO in good hands,” he said.
Rutte will be congratulated by President Joe Biden and his NATO counterparts at a summit in Washington from July 9-11 focused on supporting Ukraine against Russian invasion, perhaps the alliance's biggest challenge.
Taking to social media, Rutte described his appointment as a huge honor.
The alliance is and will remain the cornerstone of our collective security. Leading this organization is a responsibility that I do not take lightly, he posted on X. He said he looked forward to taking on the position with great vigor in October.
The Secretary General chairs meetings and guides sometimes delicate consultations among NATO's 32 member countries to ensure that an organization that operates by consensus can continue to function. The NATO leader also ensures that decisions are implemented and speaks on behalf of all members.
Even before succeeding Stoltenberg, Rutte was put to the test.
Securing the NATO chief's job required all of Rutte's diplomatic skills to convince skeptics, including Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbn and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to support his candidacy.
Rutte had to accept Hungary's demand that it would not be obliged to provide personnel or funds for new NATO support plans for Ukraine. In an alliance that operates by consensus, each country has a right of veto.
A former NATO spokesperson also believes that Rutte is a good candidate for the job.
Like Stoltenberg, Rutte is a pragmatist and one of the few European politicians who has developed a good working relationship not only with Joe Biden, but also with Donald Trump. That could prove a key asset for NATO after November's U.S. presidential election, said Oana Lungescu, NATO's former chief spokesperson.
Rutte is seen as a safe person to lead NATO through turbulent times, just as Stoltenberg has done over the past decade, Lungescu, now a member of the NATO think tank, told the Associated Press. defense and security, the Royal United Services Institute.
From historian to business leader via politics
A history graduate and former human resources director at multinational consumer products company Unilever, Rutte first became prime minister of the Netherlands in October 2010. He resigned last July as his four-party coalition fell out over the way to curb immigration.
Despite being one of Europe's leading politicians for years, Rutte has remained down-to-earth.
He is often seen cycling around his hometown of The Hague, or walking from his office to a meeting while eating an apple. When he tendered the resignation of his government to King Willem-Alexander last year, he traveled to an ornate royal palace in a Saab station wagon.
Last Thursday, when his last rival for NATO's top job withdrew, Rutte posed in jeans, a white shirt and sunglasses for selfies with people outside his office, sitting on his bicycle.
When he was Dutch prime minister, Rutte was a strong supporter of Ukraine and its right to defend itself after the 2022 Russian invasion. Under his leadership, the Netherlands pledged military equipment to kyiv, including Leopard tanks and F-16 fighter jets.
He said the war on Europe's eastern flank was one of the reasons he sought the post of NATO chief.
Rutte's political career has not been without its bumps
Rutte has recovered from a number of scandals while in power in the Netherlands. He was so adept at keeping political stains from clinging to him that he earned the nickname Teflon Mark.
His third coalition government resigned in early 2021 following a scandal involving investigations into child welfare benefits that wrongly labeled thousands of parents as fraudsters.
Months later, Rutte proved himself a master of survival, leading his conservative People's Party for Freedom and Democracy to victory in national elections and cobbling together his fourth and final coalition made up of the same parties that resigned to trigger the vote.
Experience in the international political scene
His years in office also allowed him to hone his skills at the international level. Working the room with a broad smile and firm handshake at European Union summits, Rutte developed strong working relationships with powerful leaders such as former German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Frances Emmanuel Macron. He also visited Biden and Trump in Washington.
As a veteran of European summits, Rutte will bring a different understanding than Stoltenberg of the complex NATO-EU relationship, Lungescu said. But it will also need to ensure that EU defense efforts complement NATO, rather than weaken it, at this critical time.
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