WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is welcoming outgoing NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg to the White House for talks on Monday as the competition to find his successor to lead the military alliance heats up.
Stoltenberg, who has led the NATO since 2014 and has had his tenure extended three times, said earlier this year he would move on when his current time expires at the end of September. The jockeying to replace him is intensifying as leaders of the 31-member military alliance are set to meet next month for their annual summit in Vilnius, Lithuania.
Last week, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak made the case for U.K. Defense Minister Ben Wallace directly to Biden. The U.S. president also met with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, another potential contender.
Asked about the NATO job at a news conference with Sunak by his side, Biden called Wallace “very qualified” but noted that the conversation among NATO leaders to find a “consensus” pick to replace Stoltenberg was ongoing. Biden’s opinion carries enormous weight as the U.S. spends more than any other member in the alliance on defense.
Frederiksen sought to play down her candidacy after she met with Biden last week. She declined to say whether she discussed the coming vacancy with him, telling reporters that she did not want to go “further in these speculations about NATO.” The alliance has never had a female secretary-general.
A British…
