The new Secretary General of NATO is Mark Rutte.

NATO allies have chosen Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte as the next Secretary General without breaking his current HTML. Former Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, whose term has expired, praised his successor Rutte as a "true transatlanticist, strong leader, and consensus builder."

SUPPORTED BY ALL COUNTRIES

Stoltenberg, who took office in 2014, was a former opposition leader and prime minister in Norway in previous years. Meanwhile, Rutte's candidacy was supported by all countries in NATO.

RIVAL WITHDREW FROM THE RACE LAST WEEK

Mark Rutte's appointment as NATO Secretary General became official today after Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, his only rival for the position, announced last week that he was withdrawing from the race.

TURKEY ALSO SUPPORTED THE LEADERSHIP

Turkey had informed alliance members in April that it supported Rutte for the new leadership. During his meeting with President Erdogan in Istanbul on April 26, Rutte stated that Turkey is a very important ally in NATO and represents the second largest military power within NATO after the United States.

WHO IS MARK RUTTE?

Mark Rutte was born on February 14, 1967, in The Hague, located in the south of the Netherlands. After completing his education at Leiden University, he became a member of the board of the Liberal Youth Organization in 1988 and served in that position until 1991.

In 1993, Rutte became a member of the party's board and in 2004, he started serving as the State Secretary for Employment and Social Affairs in the Netherlands.

In 2006, Mark Rutte became the leader of the VVD party and served as the leader of the parliamentary group until 2010. On October 14, 2010, he became the Prime Minister of the Netherlands.