"Honoured by #NATO Allies’ decision to extend my term as Secretary General until 1 October 2024. The transatlantic bond between Europe & North America has ensured our freedom & security for nearly 75 years, and in a more dangerous world, our Alliance is more important than ever," Stoltenberg tweeted.
Jens Stoltenberg is a former Norwegian prime minister who has served as the 13th secretary general of NATO since 2014. He is one of the longest-serving NATO high-ranking executives, dwarfed only by Dutch-born Joseph Luns who stayed in position for 13 consecutive years between 1971 and 1984.
Stoltenberg is dubbed “the Indispensable Bureaucrat” by Western media and for a reason. Political scientists allege that Washington wanted Stoltenberg to remain in office until the 2024 presidential elections or even longer as he is an extremely convenient person for them to have there. Western media and analysts agree that Stoltenberg - a civil politician seemingly "running" a giant military bloc - is not a political “strongman”. Many call him “Multilateral Man” or even “Consensus Man”, since he mainly bandwagons US foreign policy.
However, things were not always this way. In his youth, Stoltenberg used to be an anti-war activist who participated in rallies against US actions in Vietnam and advocated for Norway to leave NATO.
He used to be fond of Marxist ideas and even had regular contacts with Soviet diplomats who turned out to be KGB agents planning to recruit the young and naïve Norwegian politician. The Soviet Secret Service even had a codename for him – Steklov, but eventually the plan did not work out.