New potential candidate emerges for NATO Secretary General position, Bloomberg
Klaus Iohannis, President of Romania (Photo: Getty Images)
Romania has informed NATO countries that it plans to nominate its president, Klaus Iohannis, for the position of Secretary General of the Alliance, reports Bloomberg.
As the material writes, the nomination of President Klaus Iohannis complicates the efforts of other allies to appoint Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte as the next Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Alliance.
Unnamed European and American officials, commenting to Bloomberg, expressed doubts about Iohannis's chances. Some of them stated that the Romanian attempt would likely just prolong the process before Rutte eventually becomes Secretary-General. Several American officials told Bloomberg that President Joe Biden holds both candidates in high regard, but the United States has already favored Rutte.
NATO countries are trying to agree on the successor to the current Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg before the meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels in early April on the occasion of the Alliance's 75th anniversary.
Rutte's candidacy
Today, on February 22, Politico reported that U.S. President Joe Biden supports the appointment of Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte as NATO Secretary-General after the end of Jens Stoltenberg's term.
At the same time, Sky News reported that the UK also supports Rutte's candidacy.
Stoltenberg's term expires on October 1, 2024.
