Jens Stoltenberg is a man for a crisis, something of a prerequisite for the role of secretary general of the military alliance Nato.
He has used all his experience after nearly two decades at the top table of world politics, honed in two stints as prime minister of Norway, to steer Nato through the rough seas it has faced under his leadership.
Nato’s world leaders underlined their faith in him by asking him to extend his eight-year tenure by another year after Russia’s attack on Ukraine. In so doing, Mr Stoltenberg, 63, gave up his long-held desire to become chairman of his native Norway’s central bank. The situation had given him "no choice" he said at the time, and felt it was the most important thing he could do with his life.
The reason why the US, French, German and British leaders asked him to continue was clear on Tuesday evening, as he calmly sat on a stool for 30 minutes being questioned over a range of issues at the Nato forum in Madrid.
He was asked about Turkey’s objection to Sweden and Finland joining the alliance. Turkey had “serious concerns on issues like terrorism”, he responded, being careful to pronounce the country’s newly-branded name “Türkiye” and acknowledging its issues with the Kurdish PKK terrorist-designated group.
He signed off by remarking that he was meeting the leaders of Turkey, Finland and Sweden, adding: “I hope that we can make some progress”.
Mr Stoltenberg calmly removed his earpiece and microphone and walked offstage. Beneath the unruffled exterior his mind would have been furiously working over the diplomatic language and guarantees required to reverse Ankara’s veto.
Four hours later, The National was among several media outlets to receive a memo from Finland’s presidential office stating that Turkey’s objections had gone.
Mr Stoltenberg learnt lessons in diplomacy from his father, a Norwegian foreign minister, and from his tenure as Norway’s prime minister when in 2011 right-wing extremist Anders Breivik planted a bomb outside his office, killing eight people, before going on to massacre a further 69 at an island youth camp.
His leadership following the country's worst peacetime attack was exemplary. He gave a dignified response at a memorial service for victims, pledging to combat the atrocity with “more democracy, more openness, and more humanity, but never naivety”.
Holding firm to Norwegian values resonated not only with his fellow countrymen but around the world. When the Nato position became free in 2014 he was duly selected.
It had been a journey from his left-wing teenage days, when he had thrown stones at the US Embassy in Oslo to protest against Vietnam bombings in the 1970s.
Later, as leader of Norway’s Labour Party youth wing, he initially supported its policy of exiting Nato, before persuading members to reverse and accept the alliance.
It was a trajectory similar to his political champion, Britain’s Tony Blair, whose more centrist politics of left-wing realism Mr Stoltenberg said had inspired him.
As Norway’s prime minister from 2005 to 2013 he sent troops to Nato’s mission in Afghanistan and war planes to the no-fly zone over Libya. He also helped broker peace talks between the Taliban and Afghan government in 2013.
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US President Joe Biden speaks at a news conference on the final day of the Nato summit in Madrid. AP -
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson holds a news conference. PA -
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan meets German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. AFP -
French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during the final day of the Nato summit. AP -
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and US President Joe Biden shake hands as Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson look on at a Nato summit in Madrid. Reuters -
Heads of state of Nato member countries and their spouses pose for a group photo during a visit to the Prado Museum, in Madrid. AFP -
French president Emmanuel Macron, right, and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis during the Prado Museum visit. AP -
Mr Biden takes a selfie with Maltese Prime Minister Robert Abela and his wife Lydia Abela as they visit the Prado Museum. AP -
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the first lady of France, Brigitte Macron, right, and Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo's wife Annik Penders have a conversation at the museum. AP -
Spanish police stand in front of protesters during an anti-Nato demonstration near Tirso de Molina square in Madrid. AFP -
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appears on a giant screen as he delivers a statement at the start of the first plenary session of the Nato summit. AFP -
World leaders pose for a photo during the summit. Reuters -
US President Joe Biden, left, and Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. AP -
Maria Begona Gomez, wife of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, the first Lady of Lithuania, Diana Nausediene, first lady of Malta, Lydia Abela, and Gauthier Destenay, the husband of Luxembourg's Prime Minister, before a visit to the royal site of San Idelfonso in Segovia. EPA -
Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, Jens Stoltenberg, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Finland's President Sauli Niinisto, Sweden's Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson and Sweden's Foreign Minister Ann Linde pose for a picture after signing an agreement in Madrid. AP -
King Felipe VI of Spain addresses leaders during a dinner at the Royal Palace in Madrid. Reuters -
Mr Johnson meets Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. PA -
Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen attend a reception at the Royal Palace in Madrid. AP -
Spain's King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia greet German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, right, during a royal reception for heads of governments and states. EPA -
King Felipe VI, left, Mr Sanchez, second left and Mr Macron before the dinner. AP -
Nato leaders pose for a 'family photo' with King Felipe and Queen Letizia in Madrid. Reuters -
Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, left, with Mr Biden and Mr Macron. EPA -
Mr Biden, left, and King Felipe arrive for a meeting at the Royal Palace in Madrid. Reuters -
Mr Johnson talks to journalists on his plane during a flight from Germany – where he was attending the G7 summit – to the Nato summit in the Spanish capital. PA -
Mr Erdogan, second left, meets Mr Stoltenberg, Mr Niinisto of Finland and Ms Andersson of Sweden before the summit. Reuters -
Mr Biden shakes hands with Prime Minister Sanchez of Spain at the Palace of Moncloa, in Madrid. AFP -
Mr Erdogan, centre, arrives at the Torreon air base in Madrid. AP -
Mr Sanchez, right, speaks with Mr Stoltenberg before the summit. EPA -
US first lady Jill Biden, centre left, and Spain's Queen Letizia speak with a family during a visit to a reception centre for Ukrainian refugees in Madrid. AP -
Spanish police patrol outside the Ifema convention centre before the Nato summit in Madrid. EPA -
Mr Sanchez and his New Zealand counterpart Jacinda Ardern hold the jerseys of their national football teams during a meeting at Moncloa Palace. EPA -
Finland's President Niinisto speaks during a briefing in Madrid before the Nato summit. Reuters -
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks to the media after arriving at Torrejon Airbase in Madrid. EPA -
Spanish police officers control traffic on the Spain-France border in Irun. Reuters -
Mr Stoltenberg speaks at a press conference to preview the Nato summit at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. AFP -
Spanish police use sniffer dogs to check a podium at the Ifema centre in Madrid. EPA -
US first lady Jill Biden waves on arrival at Torrejon air base in Madrid. Reuters
More importantly for Norway, Mr Stoltenberg formed good relations with Russia, allowing the countries to conclude a treaty following a bitter 40-year Arctic maritime border dispute in 2010.
That relationship and tact may be critical if Ukraine war requires a negotiated peace, but it is Mr Stoltenberg’s avowal that Russia must be defeated and his outspoken demands for military aid to Ukraine, alongside increased Nato defence spending, that have given the alliance cohesion.
His legacy will be marked by Nato’s new Strategic Concept document to be published on Thursday.
