Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland is one of the candidates for the post of NATO Secretary General.
This is reported by CBC News.
At least four different sources — in Ottawa, Washington, and Brussels, where NATO headquarters are located — said Freeland’s name had been discussed for months in international defense and security circles as a potential successor to current Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
“There are some well-qualified women who would be excellent candidates … There seems to be some momentum for a woman to be the next (Secretary General),” a senior NATO official said on condition of anonymity.
Freeland herself on Wednesday dodged a direct question about her candidacy, mentioning that she “already has two jobs” – the positions of Deputy Prime Minister of Canada and Minister of Finance.
An interesting detail! Freeland has Ukrainian roots. Her mother, Halyna Khomyak, is Ukrainian by origin. The politician herself was already born in Canada, but is fluent in the Ukrainian language.
Stoltenberg’s term was due to expire this month, but NATO leaders, agitated after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, extended that term to 2023.
Serious discussion of Stoltenberg’s replacement continued in early 2020, long before the current Secretary General’s deadline. In the summer of 2021, the American publication Politico wrote that three former presidents of NATO countries – Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović from Croatia, Dalia Grybauskaite from Lithuania and Kersti Kaljulaid from Estonia were among the main candidates.
