The Netherlands is the purveyor of Nato secretary-generals. In October, the outgoing Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte is now widely expected to succeed Jens Stoltenberg as the head of the alliance. With his appointment, Rutte will become the fourth Dutchman to hold the post; no other country has produced as many Nato chiefs.
This is perhaps not surprising given that the highly fragmented nature of the Dutch politics is a perfect training ground for the development of coalition-building and dealmaking skills. The Netherlands also has a strong commitment to transatlanticism, often stronger than its commitment to Europe. This is not uncommon for small European nations and might explain why many previous secretary-generals were of Dutch, Belgian or Scandinavian origin. Due to this continuation with the past, Rutte seems an obvious choice.
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