“Mark Teflon” As the new head of NATO, Rutte will bring his ability to reach consensus from his experience in Dutch politics.

As the sole contender for the top position in NATO, Rutte is almost certain to lead the largest military alliance in the world starting in October.

TFD – Mark Rutte, the former Dutch Prime Minister, is almost certain to become the next NATO Secretary General. Under his leadership, the Netherlands is projected to meet NATO’s defense spending target of 2% of GDP. As Rutte transitions to this global role, his experience with coalition governments in the Netherlands positions him as a skilled diplomat to navigate NATO’s complex dynamics.

Netherlands’ THE HAGUE After serving as the leader of the Dutch government for more than a decade, Mark Rutte has much experience in bringing his divided coalition partners together. As NATO’s next secretary general, he is poised to apply his expertise as the leader of four multiparty governments in the Netherlands to the global arena.

Rutte is the sole contender and is very guaranteed to lead the largest military alliance in the world starting in October after Romania’s president withdrew from the race on Thursday.

A summit in Washington on July 9–11 between President Joe Biden and his NATO counterparts, or a conference of NATO ambassadors in the coming days, might cement Rutte’s appointment.

To ensure that an organization that relies on agreement can continue to operate, the secretary general preside over meetings and occasionally facilitates delicate conversations amongst the 32 member nations of NATO. In addition, the head of NATO makes ensuring that decisions are implemented and represent all countries.

Rutte has faced challenges even prior to succeeding Jens Stoltenberg.

Rutte had to use all of his diplomatic abilities to persuade skeptics—such as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán—to support his candidacy in order to become the head of NATO.

Like Stoltenberg, Rutte is a realist and one of the few leaders in Europe to have established a cordial working relationship with both Donald Trump and Joe Biden. After the US presidential election in November, that might prove to be a significant advantage for NATO, according to former top NATO spokesman Oana Lungescu.

As Stoltenberg has done for the past ten years, Rutte “is seen as a safe pair of hands to lead NATO in turbulent times,” Lungescu, who is currently a Fellow at the defense and security think tank, the Royal United Services Institute, told The Associated Press.

From business manager to politician to history researcher

Rutte, a history graduate and former HR manager at consumer goods giant Unilever, took office as prime minister of the Netherlands in October 2010. As disagreements on how to control immigration plagued his four-party coalition, he resigned last July.

Rutte has maintained his groundedness despite becoming one of Europe’s most prominent leaders for many years.

He frequently strolls from his office to a meeting while eating an apple, or he rides his bicycle through his hometown of The Hague. He drove a Saab station wagon to an elaborate royal palace last year to deliver his government’s resignation to King Willem-Alexander.

Prime Minister Rutte of the Netherlands was a staunch advocate for Ukraine’s right to self-defense following Russia’s invasion in 2022. The Netherlands promised Kyiv military weapons under his direction, including F-16 fighter jets and Leopard tanks.

Rutte’s political career hasn’t always been easy.

Rutte recovered from several scandals during his tenure as Dutch prime minister. He was known as Teflon Mark because he was so good at keeping political stains off of him.

Early in 2021, a controversy involving probes into child welfare payments that incorrectly classified thousands of parents as fraudsters forced him to quit from his third coalition administration.

After winning national elections with his conservative People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy and assembling his fourth and last coalition from the same parties that had resigned to call for the poll, Rutte demonstrated his skill at survival a few months later.

expertise in global politics

His years in government have also sharpened his abilities internationally. Working the room with a broad smile and firm handshake at European Union summits, Rutte developed strong working relationships with powerful leaders such as former German chancellor Angela Merkel and France’s Emmanuel Macron. He has also been to Washington to see Trump and Biden.

“Rutte will bring a different understanding of the complex NATO-EU relationship than Stoltenberg, as a seasoned EU summit veteran,” Lungescu stated. “But at this crucial juncture, he must also make sure that the EU’s defense endeavors reinforce NATO, rather than undercut it.”

Although the Netherlands, under Rutte’s direction, had long fallen short of NATO’s requirement that it devote 2% of its GDP on defense, this year is predicted to see an improvement over that threshold. According to NATO estimates, the Netherlands will spend 2.05% of its GDP on defense, up from 1.2% around ten years ago when the allies promised to increase military spending following Russia’s annexation of Crimea.