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Secretary General of NATO
Also known as Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
chief civil servant of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Key facts
- Type
- Chairperson Spokesperson
- Abbreviation
- NATO SecGen
- Member of
- North Atlantic Council
- Seat
- NATO headquarters
- Appointer
- Member states
- Term length
- Four years, renewable
- Formation
- 24 March 1952 ; 74 years ago ( 1952-03-24 )
- First holder
- Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay
- Deputy
- Deputy Secretary General
- Website
- Office of the Secretary General
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Official website
- www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_50094.htm
~9 min read
Article
The secretary general of NATO is the chief civil servant of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), an intergovernmental military alliance with 32 member states. The officeholder is an international diplomat 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, as well as acting as NATO's spokesperson. The secretary general does not have a military command role; political, military and strategic decisions ultimately rest with the member states. Together with the chair of the NATO Military Committee and the supreme allied commander, the officeholder is one of the foremost officials of NATO.
By tradition, the position has always been held by a European. The current secretary general is former Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte, who took office on 1 October 2024.