Secretary General of NATO

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).

Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Flag of NATO
Incumbent Mark Rutte since 1 October 2024
Term length	4 years
Inaugural holder	Hastings Ismay March 24, 1952
Website	Office of the Secretary General

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.^[1]

The current Secretary General is Mark Rutte, the former Prime Minister of the Netherlands, who took office on 1 October 2024.

List of Secretaries General

No.	Portrait	Secretary General	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Previous office	Country of origin
1		Ismay, HastingsGeneral Hastings Ismay 1st Baron Ismay (1887–1965)	24 March 1952	16 May 1957	5 years, 53 days	Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations	United Kingdom
2		Spaak, Paul-HenriPaul-Henri Spaak (1899–1972)	16 May 1957	21 April 1961	3 years, 340 days	Prime Minister of Belgium	Belgium
3		Stikker, DirkDirk Stikker (1897–1979) [a]	21 April 1961	1 August 1964	3 years, 102 days	Minister of Foreign Affairs	Netherlands
4		Brosio, ManlioManlio Brosio (1897–1980)	1 August 1964	1 October 1971	7 years, 61 days	Ambassador to the United Kingdom	Italy
5		Luns, JosephJoseph Luns (1911–2002)	1 October 1971	25 June 1984	12 years, 268 days	Minister of Foreign Affairs	Netherlands
6		Carrington, PeterPeter Carington 6th Baron Carrington (1919–2018)	25 June 1984	1 July 1988	4 years, 6 days	Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs	United Kingdom
7		Wörner, ManfredManfred Wörner (1934–1994) [b]	1 July 1988	13 August 1994 †	6 years, 43 days	Minister of Defence	Germany
–		Balanzino, SergioSergio Balanzino (1934–2018) Acting	13 August 1994	17 October 1994	65 days	Deputy Secretary General of NATO	Italy
8		Claes, WillyWilly Claes (born 1938) [c]	17 October 1994	20 October 1995	1 year, 3 days	Minister of Foreign Affairs	Belgium
–		Balanzino, SergioSergio Balanzino (1934–2018) Acting	20 October 1995	5 December 1995	46 days	Deputy Secretary General of NATO	Italy
9		Solana, JavierJavier Solana (born 1942)	5 December 1995	14 October 1999	3 years, 313 days	Minister of Foreign Affairs	Spain
10		Robertson, GeorgeGeorge Robertson Baron Robertson of Port Ellen (born 1946) [d]	14 October 1999	17 December 2003	4 years, 64 days	Secretary of State for Defence	United Kingdom
–		Minuto-Rizzo, AlessandroAlessandro Minuto-Rizzo (born 1940) Acting	17 December 2003	1 January 2004	15 days	Deputy Secretary General of NATO	Italy
11		Scheffer, Jaap de HoopJaap de Hoop Scheffer (born 1948) [e]	1 January 2004	1 August 2009	5 years, 212 days	Minister of Foreign Affairs	Netherlands
12		Rasmussen, Anders FoghAnders Fogh Rasmussen (born 1953)	1 August 2009	1 October 2014	5 years, 61 days	Prime Minister of Denmark	Denmark
13		Stoltenberg, JensJens Stoltenberg (born 1959)	1 October 2014	1 October 2024	10 years, 0 days	Prime Minister of Norway	Norway
14		Rutte, MarkMark Rutte (born 1967)	1 October 2024	Incumbent	308 days	Prime Minister of the Netherlands	Netherlands

Notes

1. Stikker resigned from his position a year early due to poor health.^[2]
2. Wörner died in office on August 13, 1994, of cancer. The Deputy Secretary General, Sergio Balanzino, took over his daily responsibilities for the last several months of his life and then became acting Secretary General upon his death until the appointment of Willy Claes.^[3]
3. Claes resigned as Secretary General after a bribery scandal, centering on his actions in the Belgian cabinet in the 1980s. After his resignation, Deputy Secretary General Sergio Balanzino served as acting Secretary General until the appointment of Javier Solana.^[4]
4. George Robertson announced in January 2003 that he would be stepping down in December.^[5] Jaap de Hoop Scheffer was selected as his successor, but could not assume the office until January 2004 because of his commitment in the Dutch Parliament.^[6] Robertson was asked to extend his term until Scheffer was ready, but declined, so Minuto-Rizzo, the Deputy Secretary General, took over in the interim.
5. Scheffer was named Secretary General of NATO effective January 1, 2004,^[7] but he did not take office until January 5, 2004.^[8][9]