NATO Secretary General


NATO Secretary General 👤 All Time List Since 1949

NATO – the North Atlantic Treaty Organization – is a military alliance based on a 1949 Treaty. The “NATO Secretary General” heads the alliance and is generally chosen by consensus. 13 different Secretary General of NATO terms have be served to date with 3 acting NATO secretary generals. Anders Fogh Rasmussen was succeeded by Jens Stoltenberg of Norway in October 2014. Each member state (currently 30 in total) agrees to defend any other member who comes under attack. This has only ever happened once – after the 9/11 World Trade Tower attacks in New York and led to the deployment of troops in Afghanistan.

  • ADDucation’s list of NATO leaders was compiled by Robert Junker and last updated 18 Aug 2024.

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NATO Secretary General 👤 Tenure Nationality # Born / Died 👤 Achievements, roles, previous offices etc.
Baron Hastings Ismay 1952-1957 🇬🇧 Great Britain 1 1887-1965 Ismay joined the British Army 1905 in the British Army. Served as a soldier in India and Somaliland among other places
Paul-Henri Spaak 1957-1961 🇧🇪 Belgium 2 1899-1972 Spaak is regarded as one of the EU’s founding fathers.
Dirk Stikker 1961-1964 🇳🇱 Netherlands 3 1897-1979 Stikker resigned due to health problems while in Office.
Manlio Giovanni Brosio 1964-1971 🇮🇹 Italy 4 1897-1980 Brosio demonstrated his diplomatic skills during the 1968 invasion of Prague by the Russians.
Joseph Luns 1971-1984 🇳🇱 Netherlands 5 1911-2002 Luns was Dutch Foreign Minister from 1952-1971 and signed the Treaty of Rome for the Netherlands.
Baron Peter Carington 1984-1988 🇬🇧 Great Britain 6 1919 Carington was Secretary of State for Defense from 1970-1974 and Foreign Secretary 1979-1982. Resigned because of criticism related to the Falklands war.
Manfred Wörner 1988-1994 🇩🇪 Germany 7 1934-1994 Wörner was West German Defense Minister from 1982-1988. Died during tenure of colon cancer shortly before his 60th birthday.
Sergio Balanzino 1994 🇮🇹 Italy * 1934 Balanzino Took over only temporarily after Wörners death.
Willy Claes 1994-1995 🇧🇪 Belgium 8 1938 Claes was deputy Prime Minister of Belgium five times between 1973 and 1992. Forced to resign over pressure relating to the “Agusta Affair” (Italian helicopter deliveries)
Sergio Balanzino 1995 🇮🇹 Italy * 1934 Balanzino took over temporarily after Claes’s resignation.
Javier Solana 1995-1999 🇪🇸 Spain 9 1942 Solana was originally a NATO opponent which led to sharp criticism of the nomination by the United States.
Baron George Robertson 1999-2003 🇬🇧 Great Britain 10 1946 Robertson was previously British Defense Minister from 1997-1999 under UK Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Alessandro Minuto-Rizzo 2003-2004 🇮🇹 Italy * 1940 Minuto-Rizzo was deputy Nato Secretary General 2001 to 2007, was acting Nato Secretary General for three weeks between 17 December 2003 and 1st January 2004.
Jaap de Hoop Scheffer 2004-2009 🇳🇱 Netherlands 11 1948 De Hoop Scheffer viewed NATO’s main role as peacekeeping in Afghanistan. In 2011 De Hoop Scheffer stated at a NATO conference:

“NATO troops have to guard pipelines that transport oil and gas that is directed for the West.”
Anders Fogh Rasmussen 2009-2014 🇩🇰 Denmark 12 1953 Rasmussen was Prime Minister of Denmark from 2001-2009. After his term ended Rasmussen launched Rasmussen Global, a political consultancy focusing on NATO security policy issues, Brexit and the European Union, transatlantic relations and economic development.
Jens Stoltenberg Since 2014 🇳🇴 Norway 13 1959 NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg was Prime Minister of Norway from 2000-2001 and 2005-2013. Along with a Ukrainian representative, Stoltenberg is chairman of the NATO-Ukraine Commission. He is also chairman of the NATO-Georgia Commission. Jens Stoltenberg’s 2020 BBC interview for Desert Island Discs reveals the interesting man behind the role.

See also: UN Secretaries General… | International Organizations…

Notes: *Acting NATO Secretary General. The French term for the NATO Secretary General is: Secrétaire général de l’OTAN

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