NATO Secretary General Enters Race to Become Next Head of Norway's Central Bank

The diplomat will have to finish his present term at the alliance, which ends in September 2022, before taking on any new job for which he gets selected. So far, there has been no news about who might become the next head of NATO.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has joined the race to become the next head of Norway's central bank, both Stoltenberg and the country's Finance Ministry have confirmed.

"The Finance Ministry contacted me in November and asked whether I would consider applying for the position. I've done that now", Stoltenberg said.

The secretary general of the alliance noted in his interview with the news agency NTB that he was "very motivated for" the job. He added, however, that he will still have to finish his term as the chief of NATO, which ends in September 2022.

The post at the top of Norway's central bank will fall vacant in March 2022, when its current governor, Oystein Olsen, resigns as per his prior announcement.

Stoltenberg used to be Norway's finance minister and prime minister before getting the post of the NATO secretary general. He holds a master's degree in economics.

However, Stoltenberg is far from being a shoe-in for the central bank job: the institution responsible for determining Norway's fiscal policy is far from being guaranteed and there are another 21 applicants, including central bank Deputy Governor Ida Wolden Bache, whom some feel is the favourite, according to Reuters. She led the country's monetary policy for four years and was the head of financial stability for one more.

There is also little information regarding who might become the next NATO secretary general. There is no formal procedure for selecting a new secretary general, but traditionally the member states negotiate a single candidate via diplomatic channels in advance.