After Stoltenberg: who could become the new NATO Secretary General

NATO could be headed by a woman / Collage 24 Channel

Talk about a new candidate for the post of NATO Secretary General continues. Jens Stoltenberg could be replaced by a woman next year. We are talking about the Prime Minister of Estonia Kaia Kallas, she is “open” before being appointed to this position.

She said this during a defense forum organized by Politico. Kaya Kallas added that this could happen if her candidacy is supported.

Why Kaja Kallas wants to lead NATO

Callas was asked whether she could be considered as the next NATO secretary general after Jens Stoltenberg steps down from the position.

The Prime Minister of Estonia initially responded evasively and reminded who was informally considered the main candidate.

I recently heard a joke that “the next Secretary General should be from a “new” NATO member country, that is, after 20 years in NATO, it should definitely be a person from a country that spends 2% of GDP on defense and it would be good if this “It would be logical that this is Mark Rutte,” Kallas said.

However, she answered in the affirmative to a direct question about whether she wanted to consider her candidacy.

Who is being considered for the position?

Previously they wrote that some NATO representatives insist that the Alliance should be led either by a woman or someone from one of the countries of Eastern Europe, given the Russian-Ukrainian war.

Also named as likely successors to Jens Stoltenberg are Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who will leave office after the elections, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, whose term is also ending.

In addition, a candidate to replace the current NATO Secretary General was considered in Britain. They offer the former head of the British Ministry of Defense Ben Wallace.

Discussions continue

• According to The Washington Post, US President Joe Biden made it clear to Stoltenberg that he would be happy to have him in office. as long as possible. However, he hinted that former British Defense Minister Ben Wallace could be a good candidate for the post of Secretary General of the Bloc.

• The head of the Ukrainian mission to NATO, Natalya Galibarenko, said that Wallace’s candidacy is beneficial to Ukraine, since he is for our state. Wallace is in our best interests, she said. According to the head of the Ukrainian mission to the Alliance, he personally and his country have repeatedly confirmed their loyalty.

• Danish Prime Minister Matte Frederiksen was also considered a contender for a long time.