Mark Rutte

Mark Rutte (born 14 February 1967) is a Dutch politician. He became Secretary General of NATO on 1 October 2024 and is the former Prime Minister of the Netherlands.

Mark Rutte in 2015

Quotes

• I made mistakes, in communication. In the beginning, I put too much emphasis on people's own responsibility and not enough on the mandatory measures (with regards to COVID-19 pandemic). The second is that I did not succeed in convincing people to a sufficient extent about the basic measures.
  • Mark Rutte (2021) cited in: "Rutte: I made coronavirus policy mistakes; King can help speed up Cabinet formation" in NL Times, 24 December 2021.

• The more we help Ukraine at the moment, the sooner [the war] will end. The cost of supporting Ukraine is far, far lower, than the cost we would face if we allow Putin to get his way.
  • Mark Rutte (2024) cited in No imminent nuclear threat from Russia, says new Nato chief in BBC, 1 October 2024.

• We have to make sure that Ukraine prevails as a sovereign, independent, democratic nation.
  • Mark Rutte (October 1, 2024) cited in "Rutte declares Ukraine ‘top priority’ as he takes over as NATO head". 

• Mark Rutte Let's not forget Ukraine is fighting a war of self defence, and that means that Ukraine has the right to defend itself. And as we know, international law, and according to international law, this right does not end at the border. So that means that supporting Ukraine's right to self defence means that it is also possible for them to strike legitimate targets on the aggressor territory. At the end, it's up to each Ally to determine its support for Ukraine. That's not up to me. This is for the individual Allies in their relationship with Ukraine. And we also have to be clear that not a single, one single weapon alone will win the war. But obviously this is an important debate. Jonathan Beale (BBC) And do you support Ukraine's request? NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte Well, I can understand Ukraine's request. I understand so I'm with Jens Stoltenberg on this and what he said before. But in the end, that is up to each Ally to decide what they want to do. And when I look at in particular Allies which are involved here they have now, for example, the United States and their leadership, they have spent tens of thousands, tens of billions in dollars to support Ukraine's right to self defence. And let's be clear, Ukraine likely would not exist as a country today without US support.
  • Mark Rutte (October 1, 2024) cited in Press conference by incoming NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in NATO.int, 1 October 2024

• On average, European countries easily spend up to a quarter of their national income on pensions, health and social security systems. We need a small fraction of that money to make our defences much stronger, and to preserve our way of life.
  • Speech by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the Concert Noble, Brussels, NATO.int, 13 December 2024

Quotes on Rutte

• Mark is a true transatlanticist, a strong leader and a consensus-builder. I wish him every success as we continue to strengthen NATO. I know I am leaving NATO in good hands.
  • Jens Stoltenberg upon Rutte being selected by the North Atlantic Council to succeed him as the next NATO Secretary-General. (June 26, 2024)

• Mark has the perfect background to become a great secretary-general. He has served as prime minister for 14 years and led four different coalition governments … therefore he knows how to make compromises, create consensus, and these are skills which are very much valued here at NATO.
  • Jens Stoltenberg (October 1, 2026)