Secretary General of NATO facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Flag of NATO
Logo of NATO
Incumbent Mark Rutte since 1 October 2024
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Member of	North Atlantic Council
Seat	NATO headquarters
Appointer	Member states
Term length	Four years, renewable
Formation	24 March 1952; 73 years ago (1952-03-24)
First holder	Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay
Deputy	Deputy Secretary General

The Secretary General of NATO is the main civilian leader of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. NATO is a group of 32 countries that work together for military defense.

The Secretary General is like a top international diplomat. Their job is to help coordinate how the alliance works. They also lead NATO's international staff, which is a team of people from all member countries.

This person also leads most of NATO's important meetings, like those of the North Atlantic Council. They are also the main spokesperson for NATO. However, the Secretary General does not command any military forces. Big decisions about politics, military, and strategy are made by the member countries.

The Secretary General works closely with other important NATO officials. These include the Chair of the NATO Military Committee and the Supreme Allied Commander.

The current Secretary General is Mark Rutte, who used to be the Prime Minister of the Netherlands. He started his role on October 1, 2024.

History of the Role

NATO was formed to protect its members. The North Atlantic Treaty said that members needed to create a "Council." This Council, called the North Atlantic Council, was made up of foreign ministers from each NATO country. They met once a year.

In 1950, countries wanted to work together more closely every day. So, they decided to appoint "Council deputies." These deputies were based in London and helped manage the organization daily. They could make decisions for the North Atlantic Council.

As NATO grew, especially with a new unified military command, it needed a stronger way to manage everything. In 1951, NATO was reorganized. The Council deputies were given more power to represent their governments on all matters, not just foreign affairs.

In 1952, NATO decided it needed a single senior leader. This leader would manage all the civilian parts of the organization. This led to the creation of the Secretary General position.

The first person chosen for this role was Hastings Ismay. He was a general from World War II and a British government official. He was seen as a good choice because he had experience as both a soldier and a diplomat. He started his role on March 24, 1952.

After Ismay retired in 1957, Paul-Henri Spaak became the second Secretary General. He was a diplomat and former Prime Minister of Belgium. Unlike Ismay, Spaak did not have military experience. His appointment showed that NATO was also focusing on political cooperation, not just military matters.

After a disagreement among NATO countries called the Suez Crisis, the Secretary General's role grew. They were given the power to help solve problems between member governments. This meant they could offer to help discuss, mediate, or arbitrate disputes.

Secretary General Joseph Luns meets with United States Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger in 1983.

Secretary General Javier Solana and Russian Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev in 1997.

Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg with defense ministers from Germany, the US, and the UK in 2015.

List of NATO Secretaries General

The first Secretary General was chosen in 1952. Since then, twelve different diplomats have officially held the position. They have come from eight different countries. The United Kingdom has had three, the Netherlands four, Belgium two, and Italy, Germany, Spain, Denmark, and Norway one each. Sometimes, an acting Secretary General has temporarily filled the role between official appointments.

No.	Portrait	Secretary General	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Previous office	Country of origin
1		Ismay, HastingsGeneral Hastings Ismay 1st Baron Ismay (1887–1965)	24 March 1952	16 May 1957	5 years, 53 days	Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations	United Kingdom
2		Spaak, Paul-HenriPaul-Henri Spaak (1899–1972)	16 May 1957	21 April 1961	3 years, 340 days	Prime Minister of Belgium	Belgium
3		Stikker, DirkDirk Stikker (1897–1979)	21 April 1961	1 August 1964	3 years, 102 days	Minister of Foreign Affairs	Netherlands
4		Brosio, ManlioManlio Brosio (1897–1980)	1 August 1964	1 October 1971	7 years, 61 days	Ambassador to the United Kingdom	Italy
5		Luns, JosephJoseph Luns (1911–2002)	1 October 1971	25 June 1984	12 years, 268 days	Minister of Foreign Affairs	Netherlands
6		Carrington, PeterPeter Carington 6th Baron Carrington (1919–2018)	25 June 1984	1 July 1988	4 years, 6 days	Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs	United Kingdom
7		Wörner, ManfredManfred Wörner (1934–1994)	1 July 1988	13 August 1994 †	6 years, 43 days	Minister of Defence	Germany
–		Balanzino, SergioSergio Balanzino (1934–2018) Acting	13 August 1994	17 October 1994	65 days	Deputy Secretary General of NATO	Italy
8		Claes, WillyWilly Claes (born 1938)	17 October 1994	20 October 1995	1 year, 3 days	Minister of Foreign Affairs	Belgium
–		Balanzino, SergioSergio Balanzino (1934–2018) Acting	20 October 1995	5 December 1995	46 days	Deputy Secretary General of NATO	Italy
9		Solana, JavierJavier Solana (born 1942)	5 December 1995	14 October 1999	3 years, 313 days	Minister of Foreign Affairs	Spain
10		Robertson, GeorgeGeorge Robertson Baron Robertson of Port Ellen (born 1946)	14 October 1999	17 December 2003	4 years, 64 days	Secretary of State for Defence	United Kingdom
–		Minuto-Rizzo, AlessandroAlessandro Minuto-Rizzo (born 1940) Acting	17 December 2003	1 January 2004	15 days	Deputy Secretary General of NATO	Italy
11		Scheffer, Jaap de HoopJaap de Hoop Scheffer (born 1948)	1 January 2004	1 August 2009	5 years, 212 days	Minister of Foreign Affairs	Netherlands
12		Rasmussen, Anders FoghAnders Fogh Rasmussen (born 1953)	1 August 2009	1 October 2014	5 years, 61 days	Prime Minister of Denmark	Denmark
13		Stoltenberg, JensJens Stoltenberg (born 1959)	1 October 2014	1 October 2024	10 years, 0 days	Prime Minister of Norway	Norway
14		Rutte, MarkMark Rutte (born 1967)	1 October 2024	Incumbent	277 days	Prime Minister of the Netherlands	Netherlands

What the Secretary General Does

The NATO Secretary General leads several important groups within NATO. Besides the North Atlantic Council, they also lead the Defence Planning Committee and the Nuclear Planning Committee. These are key military organizations.

The Secretary General also leads the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council and the Mediterranean Cooperation Group. They also co-chair the Permanent Joint Council and the NATO-Ukraine Commission.

Another big part of the job is leading NATO's staff. The Secretary General manages the international staff, which includes people from all NATO member countries. This means they must work carefully to coordinate everyone. They also have their own personal team to help them.

To help with all these duties, the Secretary General has a deputy. This deputy is also appointed by the organization. The NATO Military Command Structure consists of two strategic commands, directed by the International Military Staff:

The commands under SACEUR - Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum, Allied Joint Force Command Naples and Joint Force Command Norfolk are Operational Level Commands, while Headquarters Allied Air Command, Headquarters Allied Maritime Command and Headquarters Allied Land Command are Tactical Level Commands. SACEUR also has operational command of the Joint Support and Enabling Command.

Liaison:          Provides advice and support to the NAC

Political strategic level:

North Atlantic Council

Secretary General of NATO Brussels, BE

International Staff Brussels, BE

Military strategic level:

Chair of the NATO Military Committee International Military Staff Brussels, BE

SACEUR (ACO, SHAPE) Mons, BE

SACT (ACT, HQ SACT) Norfolk, US

Operational level:

JFCBS Brunssum, NL

JWC Stavanger, NO

AIRCOM Ramstein, DE

JALLC Lisbon, PT

MARCOM Northwood, GB

JFTC Bydgoszcz, PL

LANDCOM İzmir, TR

CIS GP Mons, BE

JFCNP Naples, IT

JFC-NF Norfolk, Virginia, US

How the Secretary General is Chosen

There isn't a strict rulebook for choosing the Secretary General. Instead, the NATO member countries usually agree on a person together. This often happens through informal talks between diplomats.

Sometimes, choosing a new Secretary General can be tricky. For example, in 2009, there was some disagreement about choosing Anders Fogh Rasmussen. Turkey had some objections at the time.

Traditionally, the top military leader of NATO, the Supreme Allied Commander Europe, is from the United States. The Secretary General is usually from a European country. However, NATO's rules do not stop someone from Canada or the United States from becoming Secretary General.

Deputy Secretary General

List of deputy secretaries general of NATO

#	Name	Country	Duration
1	Jonkheer van Vredenburch	Netherlands	1952–1956
2	Baron Adolph Bentinck	Netherlands	1956–1958
3	Alberico Casardi	Italy	1958–1962
4	Guido Colonna di Paliano	Italy	1962–1964
5	James A. Roberts	Canada	1964–1968
6	Osman Esim Olcay	Turkey	1969–1971
7	Paolo Pansa Cedronio	Italy	1971–1978
8	Rinaldo Petrignani	Italy	1978–1981
9	Eric da Rin	Italy	1981–1985
10	Marcello Guidi	Italy	1985–1989
11	Amedeo de Franchis	Italy	1989–1994
12	Sergio Balanzino	Italy	1994–2001
13	Alessandro Minuto Rizzo	Italy	2001–2007
14	Claudio Bisogniero	Italy	2007–2012
15	Alexander Vershbow	United States	2012–2016
16	Rose Gottemoeller	United States	2016–2019
17	Mircea Geoană	Romania	2019–2024
18	Radmila Šekerinska	North Macedonia	2024–

See also

• Supreme Allied Commander Europe
• Chairman of the NATO Military Committee
• Secretary General of the CSTO – Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) equivalent