The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, says she has no interest in becoming the new leader of NATO as the trans-Atlantic military alliance seeks a successor to Jens Stoltenberg.
Stoltenberg, a former Norwegian prime minister, has been NATO secretary general since 2014. His term was due to expire last year but was extended to provide stability after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022.
The leaders of NATO members are due to choose a successor when they meet for a summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, on July 11-12. No candidate has been proposed publicly and Stoltenberg appears unlikely to extend again.
Von der Leyen, who in 2019 emerged as a surprise candidate to lead the European Union’s executive branch, has featured regularly in speculation about who might be NATO’s next leader.