Today, 1 October, NATO’s leadership has changed – former Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has officially taken office, Komersant ukrainskyi
reports.
In his first speech in his new position, Rutte clearly outlined three main priorities for his future work. Among these three key areas is strengthening support for Ukraine and bringing it closer to NATO membership.
Rutte emphasised the importance of Ukraine for European security, recalling his personal experience after the MH17 tragedy:
“Because there can be no lasting security in Europe without a strong, independent Ukraine. I know from personal experience, after the downing of flight MH17 in 2014, that the conflict in Ukraine is not limited to the frontline. So we have to do our part.”
The new NATO Secretary General stressed the need to fulfil the commitments made to Ukraine at the July summit in Washington:
“Command, financial commitments, and an irreversible path to NATO membership for Ukraine. We must maintain this support in the future because Ukraine’s rightful place is in NATO.”
Prior to the inauguration ceremony, Rutte declared the priority of the Ukrainian issue, stressing that Ukraine will be “at the top of the list” of his priorities as the new head of the Alliance.
“Ukraine. We have to make sure that Ukraine survives as a sovereign, independent, democratic nation,”
– rutte said.
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Who is Mark Rutte?
Mark Rutte is a Dutch politician born on 14 February 1967 in The Hague, the Netherlands. He is the youngest of seven children in a Protestant family. Rutte was educated at Leiden University, where he studied history, graduating in 1992.
After graduation, Rutte worked at Unilever, where he was a human resources manager from 1997. His political career began as a student, when he headed the youth organisation of the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy from 1988 to 1991.
In 2002, Rutte entered national politics as State Secretary for Social Affairs and Employment in the first government of Jan Peter Balkenende. He later served as State Secretary for Higher Education and Research, Education, Culture and Science from 2004 to 2006. In 2006, Rutte became the leader of the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy, holding this position until 2023.
on 14 October 2010, Mark Rutte became Prime Minister of the Netherlands, becoming the first head of government from the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy and the first prime minister not from the Christian Democratic Party or the Labour Party since 1918. He remained in office until 2 July 2024.
In October 2023, Rutte announced his intention to run for the post of NATO Secretary General. His candidacy was initially supported by the governments of the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and France.
Mark Rutte is a great friend of Ukraine. Under his presidency, the Netherlands is among the countries that make the largest contribution to financial and military assistance to Ukraine during a full-scale war. In January 2023, Mark Rutte was awarded the Ukrainian Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, First Class, for this.