NATO new Secretary General takes office

PanARMENIAN.Net - NATO is undergoing its own version of regime change, with the arrival of a new chief official who has the blessing, at least temporarily, of one of the West's biggest adversaries: Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Former two-term Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg started work Wednesday, Oct 1, as NATO's Secretary General, the 13th in the trans-Atlantic organization's 65-year existence, the Associated Press says.

Stoltenberg was unanimously chosen as Rasmussen's successor by NATO's policy-making North Atlantic Council in March. It was a pick that won swift if tentative approval from Putin, who had dealt with Stoltenberg when the 55-year-old Norwegian headed the left-of-center government of one of Russia's neighboring countries.

"We have very good relations, including personal relations," Putin said in an interview on Russian state television last spring. "This is a very serious, responsible person, but we'll see how our relations develop with him in his new position."

Stoltenberg, an economist by training, became Norway's youngest prime minister in 2000 the day after his 41st birthday, though he had to resign seven months later when his Labor Party took a beating at the polls. He joined the party at age 14, and was involved in Vietnam War-era street protests that sometimes ended with rocks being thrown at the U.S. Embassy.

As premier, he became a recognizable face on the international scene with his sober, dignified response to the terror attacks that killed 77 people in Norway in July 2011. It was the worst atrocity since World War II to befall his small but proud country. For Norwegians, he said, it meant "hours, days, nights filled with shock, despair, anger and weeping."

Belying a dovish reputation, Stoltenberg pushed through an increase in military spending during his second spell as prime minister in 2005-2013.

Stoltenberg has long been a staunch U.S. ally. He endorsed President George W. Bush's "war on terror" after the Sept 11, 2011 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, backed the decision to send Norwegian troops to Afghanistan, and sent Norwegian units to take part in NATO's air strikes in Libya.