A laid-back people person known for holding firm when things get tough, Dutchman Mark Rutte will need all those skills to lead NATO through one of its most challenging times.
Often pictured cycling to work, the 57-year-old starts as NATO Secretary General on October 1, charged with steering the 32-nation alliance through a period of Russian belligerence and possibly US indifference.
In the Hague, it was not uncommon to see Rutte shooting the breeze with fellow cyclists, shopping at his local supermarket, or dining in a neighborhood pizzeria.
After leaving his “Little Tower” prime minister’s office for the last time — on his bike, naturally — Rutte now swaps his easygoing lifestyle for the pressure cooker of Brussels.
A cartoon in Dutch daily NRC summed it up perfectly: Rutte cheerfully crunching an apple on a bike with a NATO logo, heading into a squabbling group threatened by missiles.
The 1.93-meter-tall (six feet, four inches) Rutte forged a reputation as a consensus-builder, but a series of scandals also tarnished his legacy in the Netherlands.
A row last year within his coalition over asylum sparked the sudden collapse of the government, paving the way for elections won by far-right leader Geert Wilders.
“A lot went wrong there under my responsibility, and I take that personally,” said Rutte in his farewell message.
But his ability to ride out the scandals earned him the nickname “Teflon Mark,” as his political opponents were unable to stick anything on him.
‘Habit and Tradition’
Rutte is widely credited with rescuing a 2018 NATO summit by talking Trump around on defense spending, and he showed typical Dutch directness by brazenly contradicting the president in the Oval Office.
In an exchange that later went viral, Trump claimed it would be “positive” whether or not the EU and the United States managed to clinch a trade deal.
The visiting Rutte scoffed out loud and interjected, “No! It’s not positive. We have to work something out.”
More recently, Rutte displayed more Dutch directness at the Munich Security Conference in February, saying Europe had to work “with whoever is on the dance floor.”
“All that whining and moaning about Trump — I hear that constantly over the last couple of days; let’s stop doing that,” he said.
He is certainly under no illusions as to the challenge posed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom he has described as “cold-hearted, brutal, merciless.”
Rutte initially wanted to be a concert pianist, but after attending the prestigious Leiden University, he joined Anglo-Dutch consumer giant Unilever, including a stint at its peanut butter division, Calve.
He describes himself as a “man of habit and tradition” who has spent his whole life in The Hague and volunteers as a teacher.
His public image is perhaps best summed up by his regular hairdresser, Marco Rimmelzwaan, who said that “Mark doesn’t like change, he always wants the same thing.”
By Richard CARTER with AFP
