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Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Flag of NATO.svg
Flag of NATO
NATO OTAN landscape logo.svg
Logo of NATO
Photo of NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg during his visit with U.S. officials to discuss the Madrid Summit in 2022.
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 of Defense Caspar W. Weinberger meets with Secretary General of NATO Luns in the Pentagon 1983
1997 Maastricht, informele NAVO-top (2)
Secretary General Javier Solana and Russian Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev in 1997.
Secretary of State for Defense Michael Fallon (left), Secretary of Defense Ash Carter, German Minister of Defense Ursula von der Leyen and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg meet 151008-D-LN567-076
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
Hastings Ismay1st Baron Ismay
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
Paul-Henri Spaak
Spaak, Paul-HenriPaul-Henri Spaak
(1899–1972)
16 May 1957 21 April 1961 3 years, 340 days Prime Minister of Belgium  Belgium
3
Dirk Stikker
Stikker, DirkDirk Stikker
(1897–1979)
21 April 1961 1 August 1964 3 years, 102 days Minister of Foreign Affairs  Netherlands
4
Manlio Brosio
Brosio, ManlioManlio Brosio
(1897–1980)
1 August 1964 1 October 1971 7 years, 61 days Ambassador to
the United Kingdom
 Italy
5
Joseph Luns
Luns, JosephJoseph Luns
(1911–2002)
1 October 1971 25 June 1984 12 years, 268 days Minister of Foreign Affairs  Netherlands
6
Peter Carington6th Baron Carrington
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
Manfred Wörner
Wörner, ManfredManfred Wörner
(1934–1994)
1 July 1988 13 August 1994 † 6 years, 43 days Minister of Defence  Germany
Sergio Balanzino
Balanzino, SergioSergio Balanzino
(1934–2018)
Acting
13 August 1994 17 October 1994 65 days Deputy Secretary
General of NATO
 Italy
8
Willy Claes
Claes, WillyWilly Claes
(born 1938)
17 October 1994 20 October 1995 1 year, 3 days Minister of Foreign Affairs  Belgium
Sergio Balanzino
Balanzino, SergioSergio Balanzino
(1934–2018)
Acting
20 October 1995 5 December 1995 46 days Deputy Secretary
General of NATO
 Italy
9
Javier Solana
Solana, JavierJavier Solana
(born 1942)
5 December 1995 14 October 1999 3 years, 313 days Minister of Foreign Affairs  Spain
10
George RobertsonBaron Robertson of Port Ellen
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
Alessandro  Minuto-Rizzo
Minuto-Rizzo, AlessandroAlessandro
Minuto-Rizzo

(born 1940)
Acting
17 December 2003 1 January 2004 15 days Deputy Secretary
General of NATO
 Italy
11
Jaap de Hoop  Scheffer
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
Anders Fogh  Rasmussen
Rasmussen, Anders FoghAnders Fogh
Rasmussen

(born 1953)
1 August 2009 1 October 2014 5 years, 61 days Prime Minister of Denmark  Denmark
13
Jens Stoltenberg
Stoltenberg, JensJens Stoltenberg
(born 1959)
1 October 2014 1 October 2024 10 years, 0 days Prime Minister of Norway  Norway
14
Mark Rutte
Rutte, MarkMark Rutte
(born 1967)
1 October 2024 Incumbent 265 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:
Coat of arms of the Chairman of the NATO Military Committee.svg
Golden star.svgGolden star.svgGolden star.svgGolden star.svg
Chair of the NATO Military Committee

International Military Staff
Brussels, BE
Coat of arms of Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe.svg
Golden star.svgGolden star.svgGolden star.svgGolden star.svg
SACEUR
(ACO, SHAPE)
Mons, BE
Emblem of Allied Command Transformation.svg
Golden star.svgGolden star.svgGolden star.svgGolden star.svg
SACT
(ACT, HQ SACT)
Norfolk, US
Operational level:
Insigne incognitum.svg JFCBS Brunssum, NL Insigne incognitum.svg JWC Stavanger, NO
Insigne incognitum.svg AIRCOM Ramstein, DE Insigne incognitum.svg JALLC Lisbon, PT
Insigne incognitum.svg MARCOM Northwood, GB Insigne incognitum.svg JFTC Bydgoszcz, PL
Insigne incognitum.svg LANDCOM İzmir, TR
Insigne incognitum.svg CIS GP Mons, BE
Insigne incognitum.svg JFCNP Naples, IT
Insigne incognitum.svg 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
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