Statement by Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel on the Selection of Former Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg as the Next NATO Secretary General
“I welcome the selection of Norway’s former Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg to be NATO’s next secretary general. He will succeed current Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen on Oct. 1, 2014. Former Prime Minister Stoltenberg will bring strong credentials and experience to the alliance at a critically important time. NATO has been and continues to be a force for peace, prosperity, and freedom not only in Europe, but around the world, and the United States will continue to strongly support the alliance, and all of its member nations. America’s commitment to NATO’s collective defense is firm and resolute.
“I want to express my deepest gratitude and appreciation to NATO Secretary General Rasmussen for his many years of strong leadership, for his commitment to strengthening the alliance, and for his continued hard work in bringing a critical NATO summit together this coming September in Wales.” Source: Department of Defense.
Background information
Jens Stoltenberg was born 16 March 1959 in Oslo into the Stoltenberg family. His father, Thorvald Stoltenberg (born 1931), was a prominent Labour party politician who served as ambassador, as defence minister and as foreign minister.
On 28 March 2014 NATO’s North Atlantic Council appointed Stoltenberg as designated successor of Anders Fogh Rasmussen as the 13th Secretary General of NATO and Chairman of the council, effective from 1 October 2014.
The appointment had been widely expected in the media for some time, and commentators pointed out that the alliance’s policies toward Russia will be the most important issue faced by Stoltenberg. Germany took the initiative to appoint Stoltenberg as Secretary-General, securing the support first of the United States, then of the United Kingdom, and then of all other member states.
The Secretary General of NATO is an international diplomat who serves as the chief official of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
The Secretary General is responsible for coordinating the workings of the alliance, serves as the head of the North Atlantic Council, and leads NATO’s staff.
Stoltenberg attended primary school at Oslo Waldorf School, and subsequently attended upper secondary school at Oslo Cathedral School. After finishing high school he served his mandatory military service with the Army’s Infantry Training Centre at Evjemoen in Aust-Agder – considered one of the best infantry training schools in the world.