Romania Throws Wrench in Push to Make Rutte Next NATO Chief
- Candidacy of Romania’s Iohannis complicates deliberations
- Dutch Prime Minister Rutte is backed by the US, UK and German
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Romania has notified other NATO members that it plans to nominate its president as a candidate for the defense alliance’s secretary general, according to European officials.
The nomination of President Klaus Iohannis will complicate other allies’ efforts to install outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte as the next chief of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. But Rutte remains the clear favorite for the post, as the US, Germany and the UK all backed him Thursday to lead the alliance of 31 members once Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg’s term ends in October.