Last year, Stoltenberg gave up his job as governor of Norway’s central bank and instead accepted an extra year as NATO’s secretary general.
On September 30, the Defense Alliance CEO position is set to expire.
When asked whether a new stay abroad would be appropriate after the end of the NATO period, Stoltenberg bluntly replied:
– number. Then I will go back to Norway.
You want to go home
TV 2 It was announced before Christmas that the US wanted Stoltenberg as CEO of the International Monetary Fund when the position becomes vacant in 2024.
Internet newspaper He writes that extensive work is underway to make Jens Stoltenberg the next president of the World Bank. Both organizations are headquartered in Washington, DC
– So Washington won’t be on you now?
– No, I’m going home to Norway. This is for many reasons, but also for special reasons.
He lives alone
Stoltenberg took over as Secretary General in 2014, by which time Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea was on his lap as the new head of NATO.
Later, Stoltenberg’s term was extended twice. He is now on his way to becoming the longest-serving Secretary General since Joseph Lownes, who served for twelve years from 1971 to 1984.
For the first five years in Brussels, Stoltenberg lived with his wife, Ingrid Schulrod, who served as ambassador. Now he lives alone.
– We were supposed to move home. We had a plan, Stoltenberg said in an interview with Aftenposten before Christmas.
Nine years in NATO
In April 2024, NATO will celebrate its 75th anniversary. TV 2 He writes that many mentioned it was a natural time to thank Stoltenberg.
Stoltenberg himself will not say whether September 30 will be his last working day at NATO.
– I don’t have any other plans. That’s what I elected until September 30th.
– Is it appropriate to extend a shorter period?
– It wasn’t a topic. I’m just concentrating on the mission I have now, which is to lead NATO until the end of September. Then I spent nine years at NATO, he says.
potential heirs
Sources in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) have written about several candidates as possible successors after Stoltenberg TV 2 and Dagens Næringsliv.
Among them are Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas and Romanian President Klaus Iohannis. Related will be British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland.
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has also been mentioned as a dream candidate.
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