Jens Stoltenberg leaves open prospect of staying on as Nato leader
- Jens Stoltenberg, who has been at the helm of the Western military alliance since 2014, is due to step down in September
- As Nato countries struggle to agree on Stoltenberg’s successor, extending his contract is becoming a plausible alternative
Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg left open the prospect that his term may be extended as senior officials from alliance member countries openly endorsed the idea – including one of his potential successors.
Stoltenberg’s term has already been prolonged three times and he is due to step down in September after nine years as secretary general of the military alliance, which has assumed even greater importance since Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
But Nato has struggled to find a successor who could win the necessary consensus among its 31 members, stretching from the United States through Europe to Turkey.
Asked if he had been persuaded to stay on during a visit to Washington this week, Stoltenberg said: “I am responsible for all decisions that this alliance has to take except for one. And that is about my future. That is for the 31 allies to decide”.
The job traditionally goes to a senior European political figure but no one can occupy the post without the support of the United States, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s predominant power.
Stoltenberg, a former prime minister of Norway, said in February he was not seeking another extension to his term.
