Secretary General of NATO facts for kids

Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Flag of NATO
Incumbent Jens Stoltenberg since 1 October 2014
Term length	4 years
Inaugural holder	Hastings Ismay March 24, 1952
Website	Office of the Secretary General

The Secretary General of NATO (French: Secrétaire général de l'OTAN) is an international diplomat who serves as the chief civil servant of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

The Secretary General is responsible for coordinating the workings of the alliance, leading NATO's international staff, chairing the meetings of the North Atlantic Council and most major committees of the alliance, with the notable exception of the NATO Military Committee, and acting as NATO's spokesperson.

The current Secretary General is Jens Stoltenberg, the former Prime Minister of Norway, who took office on 1 October 2014.

List of Secretaries General

#	Secretary General	Photo	Nationality	Took office	Left office	Length of term
1	Ismay, HastingsHastings Ismay		United Kingdom	March 24, 1952	May 16, 1957	j5 years
2	Spaak, Paul-HenriPaul-Henri Spaak		Belgium	May 16, 1957	April 21, 1961	g4 years
3	Stikker, DirkDirk Stikker		Netherlands	April 21, 1961	August 1, 1964	e3 years
4	Brosio, ManlioManlio Brosio		Italy	August 1, 1964	October 1, 1971	m7 years
5	Luns, JosephJoseph Luns		Netherlands	October 1, 1971	June 25, 1984	n13 years
6	Carrington, PeterPeter Carrington		United Kingdom	June 25, 1984	July 1, 1988	ga4 years
7	Wörner, ManfredManfred Wörner		Germany	July 1, 1988	August 13, 1994	l6 years
—	Balanzino, SergioSergio Balanzino (acting)		Italy	August 13, 1994	October 17, 1994	c2 months
8	Claes, WillyWilly Claes		Belgium	October 17, 1994	October 20, 1995	d1 year
—	Balanzino, SergioSergio Balanzino (acting)		Italy	October 20, 1995	December 5, 1995	b6 weeks
9	Solana, JavierJavier Solana		Spain	December 5, 1995	October 6, 1999	f4 years
10	Robertson, GeorgeGeorge Robertson		United Kingdom	October 14, 1999	December 17, 2003	i4 years
—	Minuto-Rizzo, AlessandroAlessandro Minuto-Rizzo (acting)		Italy	December 17, 2003	January 1, 2004	a3 weeks
11	de Hoop Scheffer, JaapJaap de Hoop Scheffer		Netherlands	January 1, 2004	August 1, 2009	k5 years
12	Fogh Rasmussen, AndersAnders Fogh Rasmussen		Denmark	August 1, 2009	October 1, 2014	5 years
13	Stoltenberg, JensJens Stoltenberg		Norway	October 1, 2014	Incumbent

Images for kids

• 

  The 11th secretary general Jaap de Hoop Scheffer meeting U.S. president George W. Bush on 20 March 2006