♦ Former Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte took over as the Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) in Brussels on 1 October 2024. He is the 14th Secretary General of NATO. Rutte succeeds Norway’s Jens Stoltenberg, who had led the alliance since 2014. 

♦ Rutte served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands for almost 14 years from October 2010 to July 2024.