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Mark Rutte

The latest news on Mark Rutte, Dutch politician and Secretary General of NATO, including global politics and diplomacy news.

Born

14 Feb 1967

Industry

Politics

Job Title

Politician

Donald Trump

Nato chief Rutte defends flattery of Trump, who he called ‘daddy’

Nato secretary general likened the US president to a ‘daddy’ in the Israel-Iran conflict.

26 Jun 2025 - 1:15PM

Nato

Nato leaders agree to 5% defence spending goal in annual summit

6 hours agovideocam

Britain

UK to reintroduce nuclear weapon-capable aircraft under Nato

25 Jun 2025 - 1:06PM

Donald Trump

‘Dear Donald’: Trump airs Nato chief’s gushing private message

Mark Rutte exposed as flatterer-in-chief in private message to the US president.

25 Jun 2025 - 12:01PM

Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte. Photo: AFP

Donald Trump

Trump rattles Nato allies as he descends on summit

The US president refused to commit to the alliance’s mutual defence vow, as Washington warns it may shift focus to the threat from China.

25 Jun 2025 - 8:45AM

Nato

Stop worrying about US and carry on, Nato chief tells Europe and Canada

Mark Rutte says the Americans are ‘with us’ and other bloc members need to focus on their military investment plans.

25 Jun 2025 - 1:48AMvideocam

Israel-Iran conflict

Iran approves general plan to suspend cooperation with IAEA

Iran said submitting reports to the UN nuclear watchdog is suspended while the security of nuclear facilities is not guaranteed.

24 Jun 2025 - 4:44AMvideocam

The Iranian flag flutters in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) organisation’s headquarters in Vienna, Austria. Photo: Reuters

Nato

Beijing’s ‘massive’ build-up raises threat of Taiwan Strait conflict: Nato chief

Its enlarged military presence could draw in Russia and thus European forces into the fray, secretary general warns ahead of summit.

24 Jun 2025 - 2:06AMvideocam

Canada

Canada raises defence spending to hit Nato targets amid tariff row: Carney

The new spending comes as Prime Minister Mark Carney tries to reach a deal with the White House to lower or remove tariffs on Canadian goods.

22 Jun 2025 - 8:05PM

Nato

Nato allies must lift military spending to more than 3.5% of GDP, US Senate told

Testimony before the Foreign Relations Committee comes ahead of the summit next week for North Atlantic Treaty Organisation leaders.

19 Jun 2025 - 5:32AMvideocam

US-China relations

Breaking with G7 stance, Trump says he’d welcome China and Russia in bloc

US leader calls Kremlin’s 2014 expulsion ‘a big mistake’ and considering Beijing ‘not a bad idea’ as summit starts in Canada.

17 Jun 2025 - 5:54AM

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney (right) with US President Donald Trump after officially welcoming the American leader to the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, on Monday. Photo: The Canadian Press via AP

My Take

My Take | Hey, Nato boss man, keep your hands off the Asia-Pacific region

The West’s unspoken assumption is that Asians cannot be trusted to manage their own affairs, at least when Western interests are involved.

11 Jun 2025 - 9:00PM

China-EU relations

Nato chief says it must build Indo-Pacific ties to meet China’s military challenge

Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte contends that Euro-Atlantic security ‘is all interconnected with what is happening in the Pacific’.

10 Jun 2025 - 6:21AMvideocam

Nato

‘Quantum leap’: Nato chief to urge 400 per cent rise in air defence

‘We see in Ukraine how Russia delivers terror from above, so we will strengthen the shield that protects our skies,’ says Mark Rutte.

9 Jun 2025 - 6:26PMvideocam

Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte. Photo: via Xinhua

Ukraine war

Ukraine invited to Nato summit as peace talks make little headway

Trump ‘open’ to meeting leaders of Ukraine and Russia to push for a ceasefire.

3 Jun 2025 - 11:42AM

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky in Vilnius, Lithuania on Monday. Photo: AP

Britain

‘Message to Moscow’: UK boosts military spending amid threat from Russia.

‘The threat we face is more serious, more immediate and more unpredictable than at any time since the Cold War,’ PM Keir Starmer said.

3 Jun 2025 - 12:43AMvideocam

Nato

Nato targets 5% defence spending to appease Trump

The transatlantic security alliance is reportedly eyeing the biggest military spending increase since the Cold War.

14 May 2025 - 2:05PMvideocam

Nato

Marco Rubio says US committed to Nato but tells allies to spend more

Trump has demanded Nato more than double its current spending target to five per cent of GDP – more than any, including the US, spend now.

3 Apr 2025 - 7:39PMvideocam

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte (right) and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at a meeting of Nato’s ministers of foreign affairs, at Nato’s headquarters in Brussels on Thursday. Photo: AFP

Diplomacy

Opinion | Why are so many countries rethinking their relations with China?

With the pandemic waning and global conflicts reshaping geopolitics, some nations are reassessing their relationship with China. This rethink could threaten China’s global influence and further divide the world into opposing camps like in the Cold War.

21 Mar 2024 - 9:01PMvideocam

The Netherlands

Dutch far-right firebrand Geert Wilders says won’t be PM

The far-right politician, whose anti-Islam, anti-migrant rhetoric swept him to a shock election victory, does not have support of all parties in his coalition.

14 Mar 2024 - 10:56AM

Semiconductors

Netherlands seeks to prevent ASML expansion abroad, report says

The Dutch government is exploring ways to keep ASML from expanding outside the Netherlands after the chip-machinery maker raised concerns about the country’s business climate.

7 Mar 2024 - 3:07PM

Ukraine war

Zelensky calls for more Western air defence systems to ‘save lives’

‘We need to strengthen the Ukrainian air shield to add more protection for our people from Russian terror.’

2 Mar 2024 - 8:39PMvideocam

Rescuers in Odesa carry a body on Saturday at the site of a heavily damaged apartment building, following a Russian drone attack. Photo: AFP

Ukraine war

Macron does not rule out Europeans sending troops to Ukraine

French President Emmanuel Macron opened the door to European nations sending troops to Ukraine, although he cautioned that there was no consensus at this stage.

27 Feb 2024 - 11:26AMvideocam

Nato

US, UK back outgoing Dutch PM Rutte to become Nato chief

Mark Rutte is the only official candidate to replace Jens Stoltenberg as secretary general of Nato, which appoints its leader by consensus, requiring the support from all its members.

22 Feb 2024 - 9:34PM

Nato

Nato to hold biggest war games since Cold War with 90,000 troops

The exercise will span from North America to Nato’s eastern flank, close to the Russian border, and will involve 50 naval vessels, 80 aircraft and over 1,100 combat vehicles.

19 Jan 2024 - 1:31PM

Nato plans to mobilise 90,000 soldiers for a manoeuvre aimed at deterring Russia. Photo: Reuters

European Union

As Danish monarch abdicates, more queens in store for Europe amid Gen Z rise

Belgium’s Elisabeth, Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands and Spain’s Leonor are among the monarchs who will be ascending to thrones in the coming years.

14 Jan 2024 - 4:00PM

Denmark’s Queen Margrethe (left), Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary receive the diplomatic corps at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen on January 3. Photo: AP

Ukraine war

EU grants Ukraine membership talks but can’t agree financial aid

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban blocked €50 billion in EU aid for Ukraine, after leaders sidestepped his opposition to agree to open talks with Kyiv on joining the bloc.

15 Dec 2023 - 4:09PM

Semiconductors

Dutch giant ASML, Samsung sign deal to build chip plant in Korea

The agreement comes during South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol’s tour of the Netherlands, as he becomes the first Korean leader to visit the European nation since 1961, in hope of forging a ‘chip alliance’.

13 Dec 2023 - 10:56AM

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