Outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Thursday was publicly backed by the U.S. and Britain to succeed Jens Stoltenberg as Secretary-General of NATO.
Here are a few things to know about the man seen as frontrunner for the job.
EU VETERAN
Among current European national leaders, only Hungary’s Viktor Orban has been in office longer than 57-year-old Rutte, who has been the Netherlands’ prime minister since October 2010 – making him the longest-serving government leader in Dutch history.
A primarily domestic focused politician at first, Rutte in recent years polished up his international profile as he became one the EU’s main dealmakers, helped by the diplomatic skills that earned him the nickname “Teflon Mark” as he managed to survive a string of political crises over the years at home.
After his fourth coalition government fell in July last year, Rutte said he felt his time was up and announced he would move away from Dutch politics.
TRANSATLANTIC BOND
Rutte has had good relationships with the various British and U.S. leaders during his long tenure. He is seen as one of the EU leaders who was best at dealing with U.S. President Donald Trump, whose possible re-election has unnerved NATO leaders as he called into question U.S. willingness to support members of the Western defence alliance if they were attacked.
At the Munich Security Conference this month, Rutte said leaders should stop “moaning and whining about Trump,” and should be spending more on defence and ramping up ammunitions production, regardless of who wins the U.S. election.
RUSSIA
Rutte has been a fierce critic of Russia and its President Vladimir Putin for years, as the Netherlands holds Russia accountable for the downing of passenger flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine in 2014 – which killed all 298 passengers and crew, 196 of them from the Netherlands.
He also spoke out against what he said was Russia’s role in the poisoning of Putin adversaries such Alexei Navalny in 2020 and Sergei Skripal in 2018.
SUPPORT FOR UKRAINE
In the two years since Russia invaded Ukraine, Rutte has tirelessly worked to increase military support to Kyiv. Rutte led a coalition of nations aimed at supplying F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, and the Netherlands is preparing to deliver a first batch of 18 for use in battle.
Under Rutte’s leadership, defence spending in the Netherlands was cut for years during a government-wide fiscal austerity drive. Since Russia’s invasion, however, spending has significantly increased and should almost hit NATO’s mark of at least 2% of gross domestic product next year.
TEACHER, OR RATHER NATO CHIEF?
Rutte teaches social studies at a high school in The Hague an hour a week, and for years said he could think of no better job when he left politics than to become a full-time teacher.
But he changed his stance in October last year, some three months after his decision to exit politics, as he used a radio interview to signal his interest in becoming the next NATO chief.
SINGLE AND STEADY
Rutte is unmarried, has no children and is not known to have had any romantic relationships since he became leader of the center right People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) 18 years ago.
Born and raised in The Hague, he has never moved from the town that is the seat of Dutch government. He has lived there in the same modest house for years and prides himself for never trading in the second-hand Saab he has had for over a decade.
Rutte studied history at the University of Leiden and got his first government job as a junior minister for social affairs in 2002. Before that, he worked as a human resources manager at consumer goods conglomerate Unilever for several years.
(Reuters)
