Mark Rutte will become the next secretary-general of Nato after his only rival dropped out of the race, clearing the path for the outgoing Dutch prime minister to take office in October.
The withdrawal of Romanian President Klaus Iohannis on Thursday ends a drawn-out campaign by Rutte to win unanimous support of the alliance’s 32 members. The Dutch politician secured early backing from the US, which exerted pressure on other allies to clinch a deal before a Nato summit in Washington next month and to avoid instability as Russia’s war against Ukraine continues to rage.
Rutte will replace Norway’s former prime minister Jens Stoltenberg, who has run the US-led military alliance since 2014 and had his term extended four times. A formal rubber-stamping by Nato ambassadors is expected next week.