Politics
22:06, 12-Dec-2017
Stoltenberg reappointed as NATO chief until 2020
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The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on Tuesday reappointed Jens Stoltenberg as secretary general until 2020.
The former Norwegian prime minister, who took over in October 2014, will pilot the alliance into its next summit in Brussels in July with the Korean Peninsula nuclear crisis and US President Donald Trump's apparent ambivalence towards NATO looming large.
The alliance is making ambitious reforms to its command structures that aim to make NATO fit for the challenges of warfare in the 21st century – particularly the threat from cyber tactics and hybrid warfare.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson (C) and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (R) attend a NATO foreign ministers meeting at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, December 5, 2017. /Reuters Photo
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson (C) and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (R) attend a NATO foreign ministers meeting at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, December 5, 2017. /Reuters Photo
The North Atlantic Council, NATO's main political decision-making body, said the 29 alliance members had agreed to extend Stoltenberg's mandate to September 30, 2020.
"Allies congratulate the secretary general and have full confidence in his ability to continue his dedicated work to advance NATO's adaptation to the security challenges of the 21st century," the council said in a statement.
Stoltenberg, 58, wrote on Twitter that he was "honored and grateful" to have his mandate extended. "Looking forward to continue working together to strengthen the Alliance and keep our citizens safe," Stoltenberg wrote.
NATO was founded in 1949.
Source(s): AFP