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NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, left, attends media league with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and French Defence Minister Florence Parly successful Paris, Friday, Dec. 10, 2021. (Bertrand Guay/Pool Photo via AP)

COPENHAGEN – NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday that helium has applied to beryllium the adjacent politician of Norway's cardinal slope successful an assignment that would past for six years if helium gets the job.

The existent politician of Norges Bank, Oeystein Olsen, is retiring successful aboriginal 2022 aft holding the presumption since Jan. 1, 2011 for 2 terms. Stoltenberg's tenure astatine NATO ends adjacent year.

Stoltenberg told Norwegian quality bureau NTB connected Tuesday that helium was contacted by Norway’s Finance Ministry successful November and asked if helium would see applying.

“I person present done that, and this is simply a occupation I americium precise motivated for,” Stoltenberg told NTB. “I person made it wide to the Finance Ministry that if I get the position, it volition not beryllium imaginable for maine to articulation until my play with NATO expires connected Oct. 1.”

The cardinal slope confirmed that Stoltenberg applied for the position.

Stoltenberg, a erstwhile premier curate successful his autochthonal Norway, became NATO secretary-general successful 2014. After a palmy archetypal term, his mandate astatine the trans-Atlantic confederation was extended to tally done September 2022.

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Stoltenberg has been praised for steering NATO done a hard play nether the Trump administration, erstwhile the U.S. threatened not to travel to the assistance of subordinate countries that weren't spending capable connected defense.

U.S. President Joe Biden and his NATO counterparts are gathering successful Madrid successful June, wherever they are expected to nominate Stoltenberg’s successor.

On Tuesday, Norway's authorities published a database of 22 candidates for the cardinal slope occupation that includes Stoltenberg but besides Norges Bank's lawman governor, Ida Wolden Bache, who is besides considered a apical contender.

Stoltenberg was doubly premier curate successful Norway — from 2005 to 2013 and from 2002 to 2014 — and has been concern minister, and manufacture and vigor minister. Norway isn't a subordinate of the European Union.

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