Mr. J.Stoltenbergbecamethe 13thNATO Secretary General. He has succeeded Mr. Anders FoghRasmussen, whose authority ended on 30th of September this year.

The decision on election of Mr. J.Stoltenberg as NATO Secretary Generalwas takenby the North AtlanticCouncil on28th of Marchthis year.

Jens Stoltenbergwas born in Oslo on 16th of March 1959.

He spent his early years abroad because of his father’s business trips, who at this time was working as a diplomat(and laterhis father, ThorvaldStoltenberg held the positions of the Ministerof Defense of Norway(1979-1981) and the Minister for ForeignAffairs of Norway(1987-1989, 1990-1993).

Mr. J.Stoltenberg has adegree ineconomics of the Oslo University.After the graduation in1987 heworked atStatistics Bureau of Norway.

In 1990 Mr. J.Stoltenbergwas invitedto workas the Secretary of State ofEnvironment of Norway. In 1993hewas elected to theNorwegian ParliamentfromOslo, and appointed as the Minister ofTradeand Energy.From 1996 to1997 he was obtaining the position of the Ministerof Finance of Norway.

In 2000 Mr. J.Stoltenberg was appointed as the Prime Minister of Norway for the first time.Because ofNorway'sparliamentary electionsin2001, heresigned andled the parliamentarian opposition until 2005,when he once againbecame the Prime Ministerof a coalition government. He held thispost until October2013.

Mr. J.Stoltenberg is the leader ofthe NorwegianLabour Partyand he is also the leaderofparliamentary faction of this party.

Mr. J.Stoltenberg also worked in the UN, in particular he was the head of the High Level Groupon thecoherence in the framework of the UN and the high-levelAdvisory Groupon financing of consequences of the climate changes.

During his stay in the office as PrimeMinister, the defense expenses of Norwayhave been steadily increased. As the result now Norwayis oneof theNATO allieswith the highestdefense spendingper capita.

Mr. J.Stoltenberg also plays an importantrolein the reforming ofthe Norwegian armedforces. Under his leadership,the Government of Norwayadopteda decision on participationof the Norwegian armedforcesin variousNATO-led operations.

During his tenure as Prime Minister Mr. J.StoltenbergrepeatedlyurgedNATO leadersto pay attention to the security challenges on the NATO borders.

Mr. J.Stoltenberg is an activesupporter ofthe expansion oftransatlantic cooperation, including the equitable distribution ofthe financial burdenbetweenthe NorthAmerican and EuropeanAllies. He seesNATOand the EU as twocomplementaryorganizationsin terms ofpeace security anddevelopment in Europeandbeyond its borders.

Mr. J.Stoltenberg married to Ingrid Shulerud and has two grown children.