Romania's president Klaus Iohannis throws in the towel in the battle to become Nato's next Secretary-General.
He and Romania's national security council are fully backing Mark Rutte's candidacy for the Secretary-General post.
President Iohannis' announcement came during Romania's national security council meeting in Bucharest on Thursday. He says he informed the other Nato countries of the decision at the end of last week.
Thus, nothing stands in the way of the Netherlands' outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who is now the only candidate to succeed Norwegian Jens Stoltenberg on 1 October when his ten-year term expires. The 57-year-old Rutte is the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, awaiting the new government expected to take office in the coming weeks.
Romania was the last country that had not given Rutte its support to become the next Nato chief. He now has the backing of all 32 Nato member states to succeed Jens Stoltenberg. For a Secretary-General to be appointed, all member states must agree.
One of Rutte's first tasks will be to prepare for next year's Nato summit, which will be held in The Hague in the Netherlands on 24–26 June 2025.
