The general secretary of the NATO, Jens Stoltenbergwill extend his mandate at the head of the Alliance for one year, which is facing the “greatest security crisis in a generation” due to the war in ukraineas stated on Thursday.
Stoltenberg’s term expired on October 1 and he was scheduled to take over as governor of his country’s central bank. Norway hometown at the end of 2022.
“Honored by the decision of the Heads of State and Government of the #NATO to prolong my term as General secretary until September 30, 2023,” Stoltenberg tweeted.
Honored by the decision of #BORN Heads of State and Government to extend my term as Secretary General until 30 September 2023. As we face the biggest security crisis in a generation, we stand united to keep our Alliance strong and our people safe. https://t.co/06YkRkmX8J
— Jens Stoltenberg (@jensstoltenberg)
March 24, 2022
“As we face the biggest security crisis in a generation, we stand united to keep our Alliance strong and our people safe,” he added.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine a month ago has triggered Europe’s biggest refugee crisis since the WWII and has led Western nations to rethink their defense policies.
The Russian President, Vladimir Putinsent his troops to Ukraine on February 24 in what he called a “special military operation” to demilitarize and “denazify” Ukraine. Ukraine and the West say that Putin launched an unprovoked war of aggression.
Stoltenberg, an economist by training and former leader of the Norwegian Labor Party, was prime minister in his country from 2000-01 and 2005-13, before becoming head of NATO the following year. He has also been Minister of Finance and Energy.