(Bloomberg) -- Former Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, became the 14th secretary general of NATO on Tuesday, where he’ll face the urgent challenge of rallying allies to maintain their support for Ukraine,
As he succeeds Jens Stoltenberg, a Norwegian who led NATO for a turbulent decade, Rutte inherits an alliance that has been profoundly transformed by Russia’s invasion.
Rutte told reporters earlier Tuesday that he’ll continue to press allies to maintain their support for Ukraine and spend more on defense. He also said that he’s not worried about the outcome of the US election, whether the winner is Donald Trump or Kamala Harris.
“I will be able to work with both,” he said ahead of the handover ceremony in Brussels.
Rutte will face several important challenges. His most urgent task will be implementing the decisions the alliance has taken since the start of the war to support Ukraine financially and logistically, while the country waits for a formal invitation to join the organization.
Allies have described Ukraine’s eventual membership as an “irreversible path,” but the timeline and conditions remain unclear.
Rutte will also have to nudge members to spend more on defense even as many nations face tight fiscal pressure. That task could become even more pressing if Trump prevails.
Even though the US military’s attention has been slowly shifting from Europe to the Indo-Pacific under both Republicans and Democrats, the choice of the new US president will be decisive for the alliance, the transatlantic bond and for Ukraine itself.
Rutte, as a longtime leader of an EU nation, could also be well positioned to smooth any wrinkles between NATO and the European bloc as it tries to focus more on its defense sector.
Under Stoltenberg, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization went from facing accusations of being obsolete to gaining new relevance. Four countries joined the alliance — Montenegro, North Macedonia, Finland and Sweden — and defense spending among members has slowly increased.
NATO has also taken over the coordination of aid deliveries and training for Ukraine, and has identified half a million troops that could theoretically deploy within a month.
--With assistance from Katharina Rosskopf.
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