Anders Fogh Rasmussen, NATO Secretary General from 2009 to 2014

The first Prime Minister ever to become Secretary General of NATO, Anders Fogh Rasmussen was appointed by Alliance leaders at the Strasbourg-Kehl Summit in April 2009, when he was Head of Government of Denmark. He took up office on 1 August 2009. During his tenure, Mr Fogh Rasmussen oversaw simultaneous missions and operations on three continents. In 2010, at the Lisbon Summit, NATO adopted the new Strategic Concept which set out NATO’s core tasks and priorities for the following decade. The 2012 Chicago Summit launched the Smart Defence initiative, enabling NATO Allies to work closer together to make better use of limited resources to develop new capabilities, and endorsed the Connected Forces Initiative to keep their forces more connected through increased training and exercises even after the conclusion of the ISAF mission. In 2014, in light of Russia’s aggressive action in Ukraine and the rise of instability in the wider Middle East, NATO strengthened its collective defence. At the Wales Summit, NATO leaders adopted a Readiness Action Plan to respond even faster to any threats and took further steps to enhance cooperation with partners around the world.

Anders Fogh Rasmussen oversaw the handover of security responsibility from the NATO-led ISAF mission to Afghan security forces. In 2011, he directed the successful UN-mandated military mission to protect the people of Libya against attack.

Mr. Fogh Rasmussen term expires after 5 years and 2 months at the helm of the Alliance. He will be succeeded by Mr. Jens Stoltenberg, former Prime Minister of Norway, on 1 October 2014.