Politico: Lithuania’s former president among candidates for NATO’s top post

Lithuania’s former president Dalia Grybauskaitė has been named as a potential choice to replace Jens Stoltenberg as the NATO secretary-general, Politico Europe reported on Monday.

Stoltenberg has served in the post since October 2014 and is due to step down in September 2022. The successor is expected to be introduced next year.

According to information available to Politico, three women may be up to the job: former presidents Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović of Croatia and Dalia Grybauskaitė of Lithuania; and current Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid.

However, some analysts say choosing a successor from the Baltics could be seen as “too hostile toward Moscow”, according to Politico.

Other countries, including Italy, may also push their candidates.

Grybauskaitė served two successive terms as Lithuania’s president, from 2009 until 2019. She is credited for being able to maintain a strong line on Moscow and has once called Russia a “terrorist state” during the height of the crisis in Ukraine.