Media report: Biden wants von der Leyen as NATO Secretary General

Actually, the acting NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, did not want to continue. But now his contract is being extended once again. According to a media report, US President Joe Biden is campaigning in the background for Ursula von der Leyen as her successor.

According to a report in the British newspaper Daily Telegraph, US President Joe Biden is campaigning for the current EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to succeed NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

According to the report, von der Leyen is Biden's preferred candidate. According to an anonymous source within NATO, the US president is trying to convince von der Leyen of the post. In private conversations, the German politician is said to have told the US president that she would not be available for the office until 2024 at the earliest. Stoltenberg's contract runs until October 2024.

The Norwegian Stoltenberg had already expressed his desire to relinquish the post at the beginning of 2022. However, due to the escalation in Ukraine, his contract was extended. Also because the 31 NATO countries apparently could not agree on a successor.

The anonymous source told the Daily Telegraph:

"We will have a problem next year when it becomes clear that the field is not stronger than this year."

According to the newspaper, Biden and von der Leyen have built a "strong bond" in recent years. Other proposals, such as British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace or Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, are said not to have convinced all NATO countries beforehand.

EU Commission President von der Leyen, who previously worked in Germany as Federal Minister for Family Affairs and Defence, among other things, had recently said through her spokesperson that she was not available for the office now or in the future. However, she also emphasized that it is an honor to be named in the circle of potential successors.

But according to the report, the U.S. sees an opportunity to convince von der Leyen after the EU elections next June. Depending on the outcome of the election, it is possible that von der Leyen could give up the top post in the Commission.

Although von der Leyen will most likely enter the election as the top candidate for the conservative EPP, there have recently been more and more voices in favour of the current President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, as EU Commission president.

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