Ukraine ‘at the top of the list’: NATO’s new chief takes charge

Mark Rutte pledged to prioritise support for Ukraine as he took over as head of the NATO military alliance in a ceremony on Tuesday (1 October).   

The former Prime Minister of the Netherlands also said NATO needs to plug capability gaps, as he took the reins as secretary general from Norway’s Jens Stoltenberg.  

“It is a great honour to be here,” Rutte told members of the alliance’s North Atlantic Council. “I thank all of your nations for trusting me with the responsibility”.   

The alliance must “step up our support for Ukraine and bring it ever closer to NATO”, he added, after leaders of the defence pact said the country’s path to membership was “irreversible”.  

“A strong transatlantic bond is the foundation of our alliance, and I can assure you I will do my utmost to ensure that it will stay rock solid,” Rutte told reporters earlier Tuesday, pledging to work together with whoever won the US elections in November.  

“NATO is now bigger, it is stronger, it is more united than ever,” Rutte said, telling his predecessor it was “a great honour to follow you as secretary general, to fill your big shoes.”  

When asked for his priorities, Rutte told reporters “Ukraine is at the top of the list: But also we need to do more in terms of our collective defence and deterrence.”  

He also said he wanted to invest in NATO’s “unique and essential partner,” the European Union, and countries around the world.  

The EU’s bid to strengthen its military role has provoked warnings of duplication from Stoltenberg, leading to a relationship which some analysts believe Rutte is well-placed to repair.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen welcomed Rutte’s new mandate in a post on X.

There are also jitters over the potentially existential implications of a second victory for Donald Trump in upcoming US elections, given his previous hesitations over the alliance and support for Ukraine.   

For his part, Stoltenberg said he was leaving NATO “with mixed feelings”, citing a rise in defence investment that has seen 23 allies meeting targets for military spending, and four new countries joining in the wake of Russian aggression.   

“It is a pleasure to welcome you, my good friend Mark,” Stoltenberg told reporters, adding: “Welcome to NATO.”