Secretary General of NATO

Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Secrétaire général de l'OTAN (French)
Logo of NATO
Flag of NATO
Incumbent Jens Stoltenberg since 1 October 2014
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Type	Chairperson Spokesperson
Member of	North Atlantic Council
Seat	NATO headquarters
Appointer	Member states
Term length	Four years, renewable
Formation	24 March 1952; 72 years ago (1952-03-24)
First holder	Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay
Deputy	Deputy Secretary General
Website	Office of the Secretary General

The secretary general of NATO is the chief civil servant of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), an intergovernmental military alliance with 32 member states. The officeholder is an international diplomat responsible for coordinating the workings of the alliance, leading NATO's international staff, chairing the meetings of the North Atlantic Council and most major committees of the alliance, with the notable exception of the NATO Military Committee, as well as acting as NATO's spokesperson.^[1] The secretary general does not have a military command role; political, military and strategic decisions ultimately rest with the member states. Together with the Chair of the NATO Military Committee and the supreme allied commander, the officeholder is one of the foremost officials of NATO.

The current secretary general is former Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, who took office on 1 October 2014.^[2] Stoltenberg's mission as secretary general was extended for another four-year term, meaning that he was to lead NATO until September 30, 2022.^[3] However, due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, his term was extended further by another year.^[4][5]