NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg will stay on another year due to the conflict in Ukraine, he confirmed on Thursday. Rather than leaving when his term expires in October and becoming governor of Norway’s central bank, Stoltenberg will be kept posted in Brussels.
Stoltenberg said he was “honoured by the decision” of the NATO heads of state to extend his term as Europe faces the “biggest security crisis in a generation” over the conflict in Ukraine.
The Norwegian native has led NATO since 2014, and previously served as Norway’s prime minister between 2000 and 2001 – and later between 2005 and 2013. Earlier, he worked as the country’s finance minister and energy minister.
The Norwegian Finance Ministry announced on Wednesday it was preparing for Stoltenberg not to be able to take the job, though no specifics were given. Oslo last month named Ida Wolden Bache, previously deputy central bank chief, as governor of the bank for up to nine months, at which point she would presumably cede the job to Stoltenberg.