Former Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte on 1 October took over as the Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) in Brussels.
- He succeeds Norway’s Jens Stoltenberg, who had led the alliance since 2014. In his first press conference as Secretary-General, Rutte called on allies to significantly increase defence spending to meet NATO’s challenges.
- He also urged the alliance to enhance cooperation with Indo-Pacific partners.
- The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was created in 1949 by the United States, Canada, and several Western European nations to provide collective security against the Soviet Union.
- NATO is a political and military alliance of countries from Europe and North America.
- Its members are committed to protecting each other from any threat. NATO membership is open to “any other European state in a position to further the principles of this Treaty and to contribute to the security of the North Atlantic area.”
- Finland (2023) and Sweden (2024) are the latest countries to join NATO.
