NATO is looking for a successor to Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. Former Norwegian Prime Minister Stoltenberg has been the highest civilian position in NATO since October 2014. The members of the Alliance extended his contract until September 2022, reports Index.hr.
Many diplomats say it's time for a woman at the top of NATO. The French newspaper Les Echos writes that there are six candidates who could succeed Stoltenberg. Among them are the former head of EU diplomacy Federica Mogherini, the vice-president of the Belgian government Sofia Wilmes, the former British prime minister Theresa May, the former Estonian president Kersti Kaljulaid, the former Dutch defense minister Jenin Hennis-Plašert and the former Croatian president Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović.
Already worked in NATO
Les Echos writes that the favorite is Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, who already worked in NATO as an assistant to the general secretary. Politico wrote that Grabar-Kitarović can boast of one of the most impressive biographies among potential future heads of NATO.
She performed, among other things, the duties of Croatian Minister for Europe and Minister of Foreign Affairs. She played a strong role in Croatia's successful applications for EU and NATO membership. She also served as ambassador to the US from 2008 to 2011, which means she has strong connections in Washington, which will have a decisive say in the decision on the new NATO secretary general.
The terrain in Afghanistan
As an associate at the Institute of Politics of the American University, Grabar-Kitarović held a seminar on the future of NATO this spring that could serve as an audition for a new job, in which she emphasized how she spent some time on the ground in Afghanistan, while working as an assistant chief secretary.
"I loved my job in NATO, the common work experience and the atmosphere," said Grabar-Kitarović at the beginning of the lecture, in which the former Secretary General of NATO from 2004 to 2009, Jaap de Hop Scheffer, former Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs.
De Hop Scheffer was succeeded in the post by former Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who preceded Stoltenberg, and several NATO insiders said it was hard to imagine the allies choosing someone who had not previously served as head of state or government.
Bonus video:
