 Stoltenberg: from NATO opponent to alliance chief Brussels (AFP) Dec 12, 2017 - A staunch opponent of NATO as a young man, as head of the alliance Jens Stoltenberg has overseen its biggest military expansion since the Cold War and kept sustained pressure on allies to spend more on defence. The Norwegian, re-appointed as NATO's secretary general until 2020 on Tuesday, has sought to reassure its members alarmed on one side by the newly assertive Russia and on the other by US President Donald Trump's occasional apparent ambivalence about the transatlantic alliance. Stoltenberg, 58, came to office in 2014, as the Ukraine crisis raged after Moscow's annexation of Crimea, and under his leadership NATO has deployed four combat-ready battle groups -- around 4,000 troops -- to Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia and Poland to counter the Russian threat. It is a key part of the twin-track "deterrence and dialogue" strategy towards Moscow that Stoltenberg has promoted. Former Norwegian prime minister Stoltenberg -- the first NATO secretary general from a country bordering Russia -- often refers to his track record of negotiating with Moscow, stressing the importance of maintaining contact, but doing so from a position of strength. And he has consistently pressed NATO members to hit a target, agreed in 2014, of spending two percent of GDP on defence -- an issue that has rankled with Washington particularly since Trump came to power last year. - Anti-NATO youth - Before taking over as secretary-general from Denmark's Anders Fogh Rasmussen, former Norwegian Labour Party chief Stoltenberg, an economist by training, had not shown any particular fondness for defence or security matters. As a young man he was a staunch opponent of both NATO and the European Union, and as a long-haired teenager in the 1970s, he threw stones at the US embassy in Oslo in protest against the Vietnam War. But under his leadership in the 1980s, Norway's Labour Youth went from advocating the country's exit of NATO to rallying to the cause of the Atlantic alliance. Born into a political family -- his father was minister of defence and then of foreign affairs, his mother a deputy minister -- the married father of two also devoted the majority of his career to politics. After entering parliament in 1991, the tall, blue-eyed career politician rose rapidly through the ranks, becoming minister of energy and then of finance, before being named the country's youngest prime minister in 2000, the day after his 41st birthday. He only kept that position briefly, but returned to power in 2005 and stayed on at the head of government until October 2013. Under his leadership, the Scandinavian country participated in the war in Afghanistan and contributed to the air strikes against Libya's Moamer Kadhafi. Oil-rich Norway, traditionally pacifist but with strong Atlantic ties, is one of the few NATO countries that has increased its defence budget in recent years, when most nations were forced to cut down due to the financial crisis. Enjoying a high level of popularity as prime minister in his own country, Stoltenberg also received international praise when he called for "more democracy" and "more humanity" after extremist Anders Behring Breivik killed 77 people on July 22, 2011. burs-pdw/dk/rlp
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NATO on Tuesday reappointed Jens Stoltenberg as secretary general to serve until 2020, as the alliance undergoes its biggest revamp since the Cold War to counter the perceived threat posed by Russia.
The former Norwegian prime minister, who took the helm in October 2014, will lead the alliance into its next summit in Brussels in July with the North Korean nuclear crisis and US President Donald Trump's apparent ambivalence towards NATO looming large.
The alliance is making ambitious reforms to its command structures that aim to make NATO fit for the challenges of warfare in the 21st century -- particularly the threat from cyber tactics and hybrid warfare.
Former Norwegian prime minister Stoltenberg, 58, wrote on Twitter that he was "honoured and grateful" to have his mandate extended.
"Looking forward to continue working together to strengthen the Alliance and keep our citizens safe," Stoltenberg wrote.
The North Atlantic Council, NATO's main political decision-making body, said the 29 alliance members had agreed to extend Stoltenberg's mandate to September 30, 2020.
Stoltenberg is the first NATO chief since the end of the Cold War to be given a two-year extension rather than just one -- an indication of confidence in his leadership.
And if he completes his term, Stoltenberg will become the longest-serving NATO chief since the fall of communism.
"Allies congratulate the secretary general and have full confidence in his ability to continue his dedicated work to advance NATO's adaptation to the security challenges of the 21st century," the council said in a statement.
- May, Macron congratulations -
British Prime Minister Theresa May welcomed Stoltenberg's reappointment, saying he had been a "true champion" of NATO.
"He has made sure that NATO has stood strong but not stood still, meeting Russian aggression in eastern Europe while reforming to face developing threats such as cyber attacks and hybrid warfare," May said in a statement.
French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted his congratulations, saying he had "full confidence in (Stoltenberg's) determination to pursue the adaptation" of the alliance.
Stoltenberg took charge of NATO as the Ukraine crisis raged in the wake of Russia's annexation of Crimea, and he has overseen the deployment of four combat-ready battle groups to the Baltic states and Poland to counter Russian assertiveness.
Some 4,000 troops have been posted, along with tanks and equipment, in NATO's biggest European deployment since the end of the Cold War which aims to let the Kremlin know NATO is ready to defend its members in the event of attack.
Last month NATO defence ministers agreed to increase the use of cyber weaponry and tactics during military operations and to create a cyber operations hub as the alliance faces hundreds of attacks on its networks every month and fears grow over the Kremlin's electronic tactics.
Stoltenberg said NATO's success since its creation in 1949 was founded on its ability to adapt to changing security challenges and he vowed to press ahead with his reforms.
"Adaptation will never be completed. The only way to successful adaptation is to understand that it's something that has to go on -- continuous adaption is key," he told reporters after his reappointment.
"NATO is a tool and a tool has to be sharpened and improved all the time to be able to tackle the challenges of the day."
Next year's summit is also set to forge ahead with changes to NATO's command structure, stripped back after the Cold War but now being expanded with the revival of a centre overseeing Atlantic shipping lanes.
The alliance is also keen to further boost cooperation with the European Union -- already significantly stepped up under Stoltenberg -- to make it easier to move troops and equipment around Europe.
The growing nuclear threat from North Korea also casts a shadow over the alliance, after Pyongyang tested a ballistic missile earlier this month which it said brought the whole of the continental United States within range.
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