Romanian president, Klaus Iohannis, withdrew from the race to become NATO Secretary-General, paving the way for Mark Rutte, the outgoing Dutch Prime Minister.
Iohannis decision was communicated via statement to the a press on Thursday. He further expressed that Rutte now has the support of Romania, in addition to other NATO countries. This comes days after the Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, reverted his objection to Rutte becoming NATO's next Secretary General.
Iohannis declared his ambition to become the NATO Secretary-General back in March. However, the Romanian president was unable to garner the backing of many other countries among the military alliance.
Should Rutte be officially appointed as the successor to Jens Stoltenberg, he will take on his new role in October. Rutte is set to become the fourth Dutch leader of NATO.
The longest-serving Dutch Prime Minister announced his departure from The Hague politics last summer after the fourth cabinet under his leadership collapsed. The new cabinet, led by Dick Schoof, is expected to start on 2 July.
