Mark Rutte confirmed as next Secretary General of Nato

Dutch Prime Minister's appointment comes at a critical time for European security

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, right, is replacing Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, left, who he said was ‘a strong leader and a consensus-builder’. AP

Mark Rutte has been confirmed as the next Secretary General of Nato, replacing Jens Stoltenberg as the head of the security alliance.

Nato confirmed that the Dutch Prime Minister will take over on October 1.

Mr Rutte's appointment, which comes at a critical time for European security amid Russia's war with Ukraine, became a formality after his only rival for the post, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, announced last week he had quit the race, having failed to gain traction.

The move was sealed by Nato ambassadors during a meeting at the 32-nation alliance’s headquarters in Brussels on Wednesday.

Mr Rutte gained early support from key members of the alliance including the US, Britain, France and Germany after declaring his interest in the post last year.

Others were more hesitant, particularly Eastern European countries which argued the post should go to someone from their region for the first time.

But they ultimately rowed in behind Mr Rutte, a fierce critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin and a staunch ally of Ukraine.

Hungary lifted its objections this month, once Mr Rutte agreed that Budapest would not be obliged to send personnel or provide funds for a new support plan for Ukraine.

Mr Stoltenberg said he welcomed the selection of Mr Rutte.

"Mark is a true transatlanticist, a strong leader and a consensus-builder," he said. "I know I am leaving Nato in good hands."

The alliance takes its decisions by consensus so Mr Rutte, who is bowing out of Dutch politics after nearly 14 years as Prime Minister, could be confirmed only once all 32 alliance members gave their backing.

Nato through the years - in pictures

British Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin signs the North Atlantic Treaty in Washington on April 4, 1949. All photos: Getty

The North Atlantic Treaty showing the signatures of the foreign secretaries and ambassadors of the original signing nations - Belgium, Britain, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and the US

A meeting of the North Atlantic Council deputies in 1951 in London, attended by Gen Dwight D Eisenhower, centre

Lord Hastings Lionel Ismay, Secretary General of Nato, with the newly adopted Nato emblem in 1952

Belgian Foreign Minister Paul-Henri Spaak holds a press conference in Paris after taking over from Hastings Ismay as Nato chief in 1956

The opening speech at the Nato summit in Paris in 1957

Some of the Nato vessels gathered for Exercise Medflex Invicta in Malta in 1961

A McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II fighter-bomber of the Royal Navy is launched from HMS Ark Royal during a Nato exercise in 1972

German Nato troops on manoeuvres in 1980

Lord Carrington, the new Secretary General of Nato, sits behind his desk in Brussels, Belgium, in 1984

A US Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle refuels in the skies over Macedonia in 1999, as it flies missions in support of Nato Operation Allied Force

Frigates, part of the Nato permanent fleet based in the Mediterranean Sea, enter the port of Piraeus, Greece, in 2003

US President George W Bush, US Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld, ambassador R Nicholas Burns and US Secretary of State Colin Powell attend the Nato summit in 2004 in Istanbul, Turkey

Members of the military attend a commemoration for Nato soldiers during the 2009 summit in Kehl, Germany

A protester throws a stone during clashes at the Nato summit in 2009 in Strasbourg, France

A Polish soldier sits in a tank as a Nato flag flies behind during military exercises in Zagan, Poland, in 2015

Guests depart after attending the opening ceremony at the 2018 Nato summit in Brussels

Nato leaders listen to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson while attending the summit in 2019 in Watford, England

Soldiers from the Royal Welsh Battlegroup take part in manoeuvres during a Nato exercise on the Estonian-Latvian border in 2022 in Voru, Estonia

Secretary General of Nato Jens Stoltenberg meets troops at the Tapa Army Base in 2022 in Tallinn, Estonia

Polish soldiers hold a Nato flag in 2022 at a training ground in Orzysz, Poland

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Mr Stoltenberg attend a joint press conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, in April 2023

He will, however, face several challenges.

They include sustaining allies' support for Ukraine's fight against Russia while guarding against Nato being drawn directly into a war with Moscow. The alliance is also contending with the possibility that Nato-sceptic Donald Trump may return to the White House after November's US presidential election.

Trump's possible return has unnerved Nato leaders after the Republican former president called into question US willingness to support other alliance members if they were attacked.

US President Joe Biden and his alliance counterparts will formally welcome Mr Rutte to their table at a summit in Washington on July 9.