Norway’s former PM named new NATO chief
Former Norwegian premier Jens Stoltenberg takes over from current secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmussen.
Former Norwegian premier Jens Stoltenberg. PHOTO: AFP
BRUSSELS:
Former Norwegian premier Jens Stoltenberg was named the next Nato chief on Friday, stepping in to take over from current secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmussen at a key moment in Europe.
“Mr Stoltenberg will assume his functions as Secretary General from October 1, 2014, when Mr. Fogh Rasmussen’s term expires after 5 years and 2 months at the helm of the alliance,” Nato said in a statement.
An economist by training and a radical opponent of the defence alliance in his youth, Stoltenberg takes the helm of the 28-nation transatlantic alliance as Europe worries over a Russian buildup on its eastern fringe after Moscow’s takeover of Crimea.
In almost a decade leading the government, Stoltenberg, who is the head of Norway’s Labour Party, became known as a consensus maker, giving him some of the right credentials to maintain good relations with Russia.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 29th, 2014.
Former Norwegian premier Jens Stoltenberg was named the next Nato chief on Friday, stepping in to take over from current secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmussen at a key moment in Europe.
“Mr Stoltenberg will assume his functions as Secretary General from October 1, 2014, when Mr. Fogh Rasmussen’s term expires after 5 years and 2 months at the helm of the alliance,” Nato said in a statement.
An economist by training and a radical opponent of the defence alliance in his youth, Stoltenberg takes the helm of the 28-nation transatlantic alliance as Europe worries over a Russian buildup on its eastern fringe after Moscow’s takeover of Crimea.
In almost a decade leading the government, Stoltenberg, who is the head of Norway’s Labour Party, became known as a consensus maker, giving him some of the right credentials to maintain good relations with Russia.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 29th, 2014.