By Claudette Roulo
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, March 28, 2014 – Former prime minister of
Norway, Jens Stoltenberg, was designated today to serve as the next secretary
general of NATO.
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said in a statement that he
welcomed the selection.
“Former Prime Minister Stoltenberg will bring strong
credentials and experience to the alliance at a critically important time,” Hagel
said.
“NATO has been and continues to be a force for peace,
prosperity and freedom, not only in Europe, but around the world,” the defense
secretary said. The United States, he added, will continue to strongly support
the alliance and all of its member nations.
America's commitment to NATO's collective defense is firm
and resolute, Hagel said.
Stoltenberg will succeed current Secretary General Anders
Fogh Rasmussen when his term expires Oct. 1, 2014. Rasmussen was prime minister
of Denmark for eight years before becoming NATO secretary general in 2009.
"I want to express my deepest gratitude and
appreciation to NATO Secretary General Rasmussen for his many years of strong
leadership, for his commitment to strengthening the alliance, and for his
continued hard work in bringing a critical NATO summit together this coming
September in Wales," Hagel said.
The 2014 NATO summit will take place Sept. 4-5 in Wales. The
last NATO summit was in Chicago in 2012.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment