Rutte praises new competitor for top NATO job, Klaus Iohannis: "An excellent man"

Caretaker Prime Minister Mark Rutte praised his challenger for the top job at NATO, calling Romanian President Klaus Iohannis "an excellent man." The Dutch prime minister made the comment when answering questions from journalists as European leaders arrived for a summit in Brussels on Thursday.

The Romanian leader recently said he would present himself as a candidate for the role. "He has been president of Romania for ten years, and I work very well with him," Rutte said about the president. He also called Iohannis a very credible leader of his country.

Iohannis has the support of many Eastern European countries who believe the Netherlands has already been well-represented in NATO leadership. Three different Dutch people have already held the job. Dirk Stikker led NATO for over three years in the early 1960s, and Joseph Luns lasted nearly 13 years before leaving midway through 1984. More recently, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer served the alliance from January 2004 to August 2009.

Eastern European politicians have also suggested that an Eastern European NATO chief may be more useful in understanding Russia's thinking in the Russia-Ukraine war. The current NATO secretary-general, Jens Stoltenberg, is set to leave office this year. The Norwegian is the 13th leader of the North Atlantic Alliance.

It has been known for months that Rutte was making himself available for the NATO top job, which will be vacant after the summer. Rutte is supported by the largest countries in the Alliance, including the United States, United Kingdom, France and Germany.

Rutte would not discuss his thoughts about who will become Stoltenberg's successor when he leaves NATO in the autumn after ten years on the job. All 32 nations must unanimously agree on the decision of his replacement.

"Undoubtedly, there will be informal discussions on the subject in the coming days," Rutte said. However, the prime minister would not share what those discussions would entail.

None of the NATO leaders in the past have come from a country in either Central Europe, Eastern Europe or Northeastern Europe. Three NATO leaders have also come from the United Kingdom, two others were Belgian, and one each from Denmark, Germany, Italy, Norway and Spain.