Brussels [Belgium], July 5: NATO member states have extended the term of Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg until October 1, 2024, the alliance chief tweeted on Tuesday.
Thanking NATO allies for extending his contract, Stoltenberg said that "in a more dangerous world, our alliance is more important than ever."
Stoltenberg has been in office since 2014. His term was last extended in March 2022, shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, until September 2023. Unable to agree on a successor to Stoltenberg, NATO allies extended his mandate again. The Norwegian is already the second-longest serving secretary general, after Dutchman Joseph Luns who led NATO from 1971 to 1984.
Stoltenberg has earned recognition as a skilful mediator between the sometimes very different interests of the now 31 NATO members.
He is credited with moderating the dispute over low defence spending by the European allies, which led to particularly heated debates during the term of former US president Donald Trump. He has also had to coordinate NATO's response to Russia's war in Ukraine.
United States President Joe Biden praised Stoltenberg in a statement for leading NATO "through the most significant challenges in European security since World War II." Further congratulations from German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak came.
Source: Qatar Tribune