Jens Stoltenberg

Jens Stoltenberg (born 16 March 1959) is a Norwegian politician who serves as the 13th secretary general of NATO since 2014. He was the Prime Minister of Norway from 17 March 2000 – 19 October 2001 and from 17 October 2005 – 16 October 2013 He has also been the leader of the Norwegian Labour Party and a Member of Parliament from Oslo.

[W]e humans are small in relation to nature, in relation to the powers that are bigger and stronger than man can ever comprehend.

Evil can kill a person, but never conquer a nation.

Quotes

2000s

• We have a high standard of living. … In Norway, we've tripled our income since 1970. In the rest of western Europe, income has merely doubled.
  • Interview in Torgrim Eggen (2001), as quoted in "At the Top: An interview with Jens Stoltenberg", Scanorama.

2010s

• But the answer to the attacks must be more democracy and more openness. Otherwise, those who were behind them will have achieved their goals.
  • Men svaret på angrepene må være mer demokrati og mer åpenhet. I motsatt fall vil de som sto bak, ha oppnådd sine mål.
  • Following the attacks of 22 July 2011 in Oslo and Utøya
  • As quoted in "Statsministeren: – Svaret er enda mer åpenhet" (23 July 2011), DT (in Norwegian)

• Reconquer the streets, the markets – the public spaces, with the same message of opposition: We are devastated, but we will not give up. With torches and roses, we deliver this message to the world: We do not let fear break us. And we do not let the fear of fear silence us.
  • City Hall Square speech (25 July 2011), as quoted in the Aftenposten

• Evil can kill a person, but never conquer a nation.
  • City Hall Square speech (25 July 2011), as quoted in the BBC

• Although I am not a member of any denomination, I do believe that there is something greater than man. Some call it God, others call it something else. For me, it's about understanding that we humans are small in relation to nature, in relation to the powers that are bigger and stronger than man can ever comprehend. I find that in a church.
  • As quoted in "Man må tro at det nytter" (31 December 2011), by Erik Fossen and Håvard Bjelland, BT (in Norwegian)

• I like the United States in many ways. I like the people, I like the atmosphere. I like to travel around also when I am able to get out of Washington or New York, and I like the food. Especially the meat. The steak is excellent, and I had a very good steak in New York a couple of days ago and you can't get that kind of steak in Europe, so big and so tender, that's one of the reasons I like to come to the United States.
  • Interview with Aroop Mukharji

2020s

• We have all seen the atrocities that have been committed in Bucha and other places in Ukraine. This reveals the true nature of President Putin's war, and the targeting and killing of civilians is a war crime and therefore, NATO allies are supporting the international efforts to establish all the facts, to investigate, and to make sure that perpetrators are punished. We are now in a critical phase of the war. We see that Russia is moving forces out of the north to reinforce them, to resupply them, to rearm them and then to move them into the east where we are expecting a major offensive. President Putin's aim is to try to control the whole of Donbas and to establish a land bridge [...]. We have seen no indication that President Putin has changed his ambition to control the whole of Ukraine and also to rewrite the international order. So we need to be prepared for the long haul. We need to support Ukraine, sustain our sanctions, and strengthen our defences and our deterrence, because this can last for a long time and we need to be prepared for that.
  • "Statement by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg ahead of the meeting of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs" (6 April 2022)

External links

• Twitter page