Former Norwegian prime minister to head NATO

New job: Set to be NATO's new chief, Former Norwegian prime minister Jens Stoltenberg. Photo: AFP

Brussels:Former Norwegian prime minister Jens Stoltenberg will lead NATO starting October 1, the alliance announced on Friday.

The appointment of Stoltenberg, 55, comes as the United States reaffirms its commitment to the Western military alliance as a way of containing an increasingly assertive Russia led by President Vladimir Putin.

Putin's decision to order troops to seize Crimea this month and his blunt rejection of criticism from Europe and the US seem likely to reinvigorate NATO and give the alliance a central role as a counterweight to Moscow.

Stoltenberg, whose appointment by NATO member countries was widely expected, will succeed Anders Fogh Rasmussen, a Dane who will have served more than five years in the post when he steps down.

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Among the challenges Stoltenberg faces is figuring out how the alliance should define collective security if Putin tries to expand Russia's influence across other parts of Ukraine and into other former Soviet bloc countries that are not members of NATO.

Stoltenberg was prime minister of Norway from 2000-2001 and again from 2005-2013. He is also the leader of the Labour Party in Norway and serves as a UN special envoy on climate change.

In an apparent reference to Stoltenberg's suitability for the post - particularly since Russia's annexation of Crimea - the alliance said in a posting on its website that he had "frequently called for NATO to focus on security challenges close to allied territory" while serving as the Norwegian prime minister.

Another challenge Stoltenberg faces is disgruntlement among Americans who feel that European members of NATO do not allocate enough spending to the alliance and leave Americans paying disproportionately for European defence.

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Former Norwegian prime minister to head NATO