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| NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen addresses at a news briefing at NATO’s headquarters in Brussels, capital of Belgium on Oct. 3, 2012. NATO decided on Wednesday to extend the mandate of NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen for one more year until July 2014. (Xinhua/Wu Wei) |
BRUSSELS, Oct. 3 (Xinhua) -- NATO decided on Wednesday to extend the mandate of NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen for one more year until July 2014.
"Following a process of consultations, Allies approved today Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen's fifth year in office, thus extending his mandate until July 31st 2014," the alliance's decision-making body, the North Atlantic Council said in a statement.
"Allies will support Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen in his dedicated work to carry forward NATO's tasks, missions and objectives, based on consensual allied decisions," it concluded.
The mandate of NATO Secretary General is four years with the possibility to prolong for one more year. Rasmussen, a former Danish prime minister, took office in August, 2009.
The extension came as the military alliance is working on wrapping up its combat operations in Afghanistan by the end of 2014.
"I think the August 1st of 2014 is an appropriate time to change leadership, so that the new Secretary General can oversee the implementation of the new mission we will establish in Afghanistan from 2015," Rasmussen told reporters at NATO headquarters following the announcement of his extended mandate.
"As you know, our current combat mission will come to an end by the end of 2014 and will be followed by a NATO-led training mission. So I think this timetable fits well into the overall roadmap," he said.
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