Secretary General of NATO
chief civil servant of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
The Secretary General of NATO (French: Secrétaire général de l'OTAN) is an international diplomat who serves as the chief civil servant of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
| Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Term length | 4 years |
| Inaugural holder | Hastings Ismay March 24, 1952 |
| Website | Office of the Secretary General |
The Secretary General is responsible for coordinating the workings of the alliance, leading NATO's international staff, chairing the meetings of the North Atlantic Council and most major committees of the alliance, with the notable exception of the NATO Military Committee, and acting as NATO's spokesperson.[1]
The current Secretary General is Jens Stoltenberg, the former Prime Minister of Norway, who took office on 1 October 2014.[2]
List of Secretaries General
change| No. | Portrait | Secretary General | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Previous office | Country of origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | General Hastings Ismay 1st Baron Ismay (1887–1965) | 24 March 1952 | 16 May 1957 | 5 years, 53 days | Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations |  United Kingdom | |
| 2 | Paul-Henri Spaak (1899–1972) | 16 May 1957 | 21 April 1961 | 3 years, 340 days | Prime Minister of Belgium |  Belgium | |
| 3 | Dirk Stikker (1897–1979) [a] | 21 April 1961 | 1 August 1964 | 3 years, 102 days | Minister of Foreign Affairs |  Netherlands | |
| 4 | Manlio Brosio (1897–1980) | 1 August 1964 | 1 October 1971 | 7 years, 61 days | Ambassador to the United Kingdom |  Italy | |
| 5 | Joseph Luns (1911–2002) | 1 October 1971 | 25 June 1984 | 12 years, 268 days | Minister of Foreign Affairs | Netherlands | |
| 6 | Peter Carington 6th Baron Carrington (1919–2018) | 25 June 1984 | 1 July 1988 | 4 years, 6 days | Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs | United Kingdom | |
| 7 | Manfred Wörner (1934–1994) [b] | 1 July 1988 | 13 August 1994 † | 6 years, 43 days | Minister of Defence |  Germany | |
| – | Sergio Balanzino (1934–2018) Acting | 13 August 1994 | 17 October 1994 | 65 days | Deputy Secretary General of NATO | Italy | |
| 8 | Willy Claes (born 1938) [c] | 17 October 1994 | 20 October 1995 | 1 year, 3 days | Minister of Foreign Affairs | Belgium | |
| – | Sergio Balanzino (1934–2018) Acting | 20 October 1995 | 5 December 1995 | 46 days | Deputy Secretary General of NATO | Italy | |
| 9 | Javier Solana (born 1942) | 5 December 1995 | 14 October 1999 | 3 years, 313 days | Minister of Foreign Affairs |  Spain | |
| 10 | George Robertson Baron Robertson of Port Ellen (born 1946) [d] | 14 October 1999 | 17 December 2003 | 4 years, 64 days | Secretary of State for Defence | United Kingdom | |
| – | Alessandro Minuto-Rizzo (born 1940) Acting | 17 December 2003 | 1 January 2004 | 15 days | Deputy Secretary General of NATO |  Italy | |
| 11 | Jaap de Hoop Scheffer (born 1948) [e] | 1 January 2004 | 1 August 2009 | 5 years, 212 days | Minister of Foreign Affairs | Netherlands | |
| 12 | Anders Fogh Rasmussen (born 1953) | 1 August 2009 | 1 October 2014 | 5 years, 61 days | Prime Minister of Denmark |  Denmark | |
| 13 | Jens Stoltenberg (born 1959) | 1 October 2014 | Incumbent | 9 years, 263 days | Prime Minister of Norway |  Norway | |
| 14 | Mark Rutte (born 1967) | 2 October 2024 | Designate | −104 days | Prime Minister of the Netherlands | Netherlands |
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Notes
change- ↑ Stikker resigned from his position a year early due to poor health.[3]
- ↑ Wörner died in office on August 13, 1994, of cancer. The Deputy Secretary General, Sergio Balanzino, took over his daily responsibilities for the last several months of his life and then became acting Secretary General upon his death until the appointment of Willy Claes.[4]
- ↑ Claes resigned as Secretary General after a bribery scandal, centering on his actions in the Belgian cabinet in the 1980s. After his resignation, Deputy Secretary General Sergio Balanzino served as acting Secretary General until the appointment of Javier Solana.[5]
- ↑ George Robertson announced in January 2003 that he would be stepping down in December.[6] Jaap de Hoop Scheffer was selected as his successor, but could not assume the office until January 2004 because of his commitment in the Dutch Parliament.[7] Robertson was asked to extend his term until Scheffer was ready, but declined, so Minuto-Rizzo, the Deputy Secretary General, took over in the interim.
- ↑ Scheffer was named Secretary General of NATO effective January 1, 2004,[8] but he did not take office until January 5, 2004.[9][10]
References
change- ↑ NATO Secretary General, NATO
- ↑ "Nato names Stoltenberg next chief". BBC. 28 March 2014. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
- ↑ Cook, Don (April 3, 1964). "Resignation announced by Stikker". The Washington Post.
- ↑ Marshall, Andrew (August 15, 1994). "Hunt is on to find new Nato chief". The Independent. London. Retrieved 2009-03-29.
- ↑ Whitney, Craig (October 21, 1995). "Facing Charges, NATO Head Steps Down". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-03-29.
- ↑ Smith, Craig (January 23, 2003). "NATO Secretary General to Leave His Post in December After 4 Years". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-03-29.
- ↑ "Jaap de Hoop Scheffer". Newsmakers. No. 1. Thomson Gale. January 1, 2005.
- ↑ Crouch, Gregory (September 23, 2003). "NATO Names a Dutchman To Be Its Secretary General". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-03-29.
- ↑ "NATO Chief Steps Down". The New York Times. December 18, 2003. Retrieved 2009-03-29.
- ↑ Crouch, Gregory (January 6, 2004). "New NATO Chief Takes Over". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-03-29.
