Former NATO chief to be appointed chairman of Munich Security Conference

Former NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg will take over from German diplomat Christoph Heusgen as chair of the Munich Security Conference (MSC) in Feb. 2025, the MSC said in a statement on Tuesday, Azernews reports, citing Reuters.

Stoltenberg will take on his new role after the conference's 61st edition takes place in southern Germany on February 14-16, it added.

Commenting on the development, Stoltenberg expressed his delight for his new role and hope for making more contributions as a chairman of MSC.

"It is a great honour for me to serve as chairman of the Munich Security Conference and make a contribution to its mission, 'peace through dialogue.' Few international platforms are as important as the MSC to promote conflict prevention, dialogue, and international cooperation,” he said.

On Oct. 1, former Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte assumed his functions as new secretary-general of NATO, replacing Norway's Jens Stoltenberg who ran the alliance for a decade.

In June, NATO announced that Rutte, 47, was formally confirmed as chief of the military alliance, replacing Jens Stoltenberg whose tenure was extended due to the Ukraine war.

He was the sole candidate after Romanian President Klaus Iohannis withdrew from the race.

NATO allies agreed in July 2023 to extend 65-year-old Stoltenberg's mandate for another year until Oct. 1, 2024. He had been serving as the 13th secretary-general of NATO since 2014.