Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
The expectations that spread during the recent period, which indicated that the Dutchman, Mark Rotte, was approaching the leadership of NATO, were contradicted. Indeed, the alliance’s headquarters in Brussels announced on Wednesday that the allies in NATO had chosen Rotte as the next Secretary-General. The alliance said in a statement, “The North Atlantic Council decided, on Wednesday (June 26). 2024), Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has been appointed as the next Secretary-General of NATO, succeeding Lens Stoltenberg. Mr. Rutte will assume his duties as Secretary-General as of October 1, 2024, when Mr. Stoltenberg's term at the helm of the alliance ends, and Rutte is considered the second Dutch figure to take over He held the position in the last two decades after De Hoop Scheffer assumed the position during the period from 2004 to 2009, and before that he held the position of his country's Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Mark Rutte, the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, belongs to the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy, which he headed from 2006 until 2023. He previously served as Minister of Social Affairs and Labor from 2002-2004 and Secretary of State for Education, Culture and Science from 2004-2006. In 2006 he became the leader of his party's parliamentary bloc in Parliament. He was born on February 14, 1967 (age 57 years), The Hague, Netherlands
He was a member of the Dutch House of Representatives (2021–2022) and studied at Leiden University (1984–1992), Maerlant-Lyceum (1984), the International Institute for Administrative Development and served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands since 2010 (re-elected in November 2012, October 2017 and January 2022)
His term comes at a risky period for the Western alliance countries, with the continuation of Russia's war in Ukraine and Donald Trump's efforts to win the upcoming presidential elections next November.
His diplomatic skill helped him overcome Turkish reservations about his candidacy after a visit he made to Istanbul in April, and the same applies to Hungary, where he reached an agreement with Prime Minister Viktor Orban at the European Union summit this week.

Rutte, who is called the "Teflon Mark" in reference to non-stick cookware, for his ability to remain in power for a long time in the Netherlands, will become the fourth Dutchman to lead NATO since its exit from World War II.