Stoltenberg, who met Joe Biden in Washington on June 13, has led the alliance since October 2014. While he has publicly stated that he has "no intention of seeking” to extend his mandate, the former Norwegian prime minister has not unequivocally ruled out continuing.
"In the interests of continuity, it makes sense,” said one senior western diplomat who has discussed the possibility of an extension with him. "He would do it. He is a man of duty.”
The intensifying debates over who should succeed Stoltenberg, whose current mandate ends in October, comes at a testing time for NATO. Russia is showing increased belligerence towards the west and has occupied about a fifth of Ukraine, there are internal divisions over Kyiv’s future relationship with NATO and China is rising as a global military power.
That complex backdrop, and the difficulty of finding a candidate that satisfies all 31 alliance members, mean that the possibility of asking Stoltenberg to extend his mandate for a fourth time has emerged as a short-term compromise that delays the decision to next year, officials involved in the discussions told the Financial Times.
"Stoltenberg has been an excellent secretary-general, and I don’t see the point in rocking the boat right now,” said a NATO foreign minister.
While the US is the most important power in NATO and an American always serves as the alliance’s military commander, the secretary-general has always come from a European member state.
The option to extend Stoltenberg comes after bids by Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen and British defense secretary Ben Wallace have so far failed to win unanimous backing in the face of a wide variety of demands from member states.
Many capitals have voiced support for selecting the alliance’s first female secretary-general, while others say a nominee from eastern Europe would reflect the region’s growing heft and the importance of the war in Ukraine.
Most countries, including the US and most of the alliance’s largest members, believe the role should go to a current or former president or prime minister, multiple officials said. The US is looking for a candidate who will garner widespread support, believing a current or former head of government has the best chance of securing unanimity.
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