The North Atlantic Council agreed on Wednesday to extend NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen’s term in office until the end of July 2014.
“Following a process of consultations, Allies approved today Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen’s fifth year in office, thus extending his mandate until July 31st 2014,” the council said in a statement.
“Allies will support Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen in his dedicated work to carry forward NATO’s tasks, missions and objectives, based on consensual allied decisions,” the statement said.
Rasmussen, 59, took up his duty as NATO Secretary General on August 1, 2009 after resigning as Prime Minister of Denmark.
He faced the difficult task of overseeing the NATO combat mission in Afghanistan during his four-year term as fighting with Taliban insurgents intensified.
The extension of his mandate has been highly anticipated as NATO troops prepare to withdraw from the war-torn Central Asian country by the end of 2014.
Rasmussen will dedicate most of his efforts to making sure that NATO is well prepared for the handover of security tasks in Afghanistan to Afghan army and police and for the withdrawal of the international contingent from the country.
In addition, he will take part in outlining the future NATO assistance mission in Afghanistan, which would focus on the training of Afghan security personnel and advising Afghan officials on security issues.
