Niinistö congratulates Stoltenberg on tenure extension as NATO Chief

President Sauli Niinistö on Tuesday congratulated Jens Stoltenberg on the extension of his tenure as the secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

”Congratulations Jens Stoltenberg on the extension of your term as NATO Secretary General. I look forward to continuing our good cooperation,” Niinistö wrote in a twitter post.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen also congratulated the NATO Secretary General on extension of his term.

”Congratulations Jens Stoltenberg on the extension of your mandate as Secretary General of NATO. Finland looks forward to continuing the excellent cooperation with you,” Valtonen wrote in her twitter on Tuesday.

NATO on Tuesday announced that Stoltenberg's mandate as the secretary general of the organization will be extended by a further year until Oct. 1, 2024.

Stoltenberg became secretary general of the transatlantic organization on Oct. 1, 2014, after having been prime minister of Norway and a United Nations special envoy, reported Xinhua.

As the alliance's top international civil servant, his responsibilities include chairing the North Atlantic Council and other key bodies and being the organization's main spokesperson.

The secretary-general is appointed by member states for a four-year term. It is the fourth time that Stoltenberg's mandate as NATO secretary general is extended.