Former Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte became NATO’s 14th secretary general, taking over from Norway’s Jens Stoltenberg who has spent a record 10 years at the helm of the North Atlantic Alliance,  reported from TASS.

The ceremony to mark the transition was held at NATO’s headquarters as the alliance convened a meeting with bloc ambassadors, a TASS reporter said.

Stoltenberg said since he took the helm at NATO in 2014 the alliance had gone "from only providing marginal support to Ukraine <…> to now providing massive support" to it.

Bidding farewell to Stoltenberg as the bloc’s chief, NATO diplomats praised his dry sense of humor and said the Norwegian was "top for his job."

Rutte pledged to prioritize moves to strengthen the alliance and provide more support to Ukraine.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, outgoing President of the European Council Charles Michel and European Parliament President Roberta Metsola have already sent their greetings to the new NATO chief on X.

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