Keir Starmer ‘Wants to Be Nato Chief’ After He Leaves No 10

Prime minister Keir Starmer is hoping to become secretary general of Nato after he leaves office, according to the Observer. 

Starmer, who despite being a former human rights lawyer has supported the genocide in Gaza and the illegal war on Iran, would not be eligible for the Nato role until it falls vacant in 2028. 

But his allies have reportedly begun highlighting his credentials for the job, arguing that he is respected by European leaders and made a positive impression during the G7 summit earlier in June. They also argue he has a close relationship with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Nato’s current leader, former Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte, could stay on in the role after 2028 if all 32 member states approve. 

Rutte has argued since 2024 that it is inevitable Ukraine will join Nato, sparking fierce opposition from Russia. Some analysts have argued that Rutte’s stance sabotages efforts to bring about peace between the two countries. 

Last week Finnish president Alexander Stubb echoed Rutte’s comments in an interview with Politico. “Ukraine is going to be European, it’s going to be an EU member state and eventually a Nato member state,” he said.

Glenn Diesen, a Russian foreign policy expert and professor at the University of South-Eastern Norway, said Stubb’s comments would help prolong the war.  

“Stubb argues that Ukraine will become a Nato member,” he wrote on X. “This sounds ‘pro-Ukrainian’ but ensures that peace is not possible. If people cared about Ukraine, they would encourage talks with Moscow about pan-European security. This is what you would say to fight to the last Ukrainian.”

Pulitzer-prize winning journalist Chris Hedges has described Nato as “the most aggressive and dangerous military alliance” in the world. 

“It launched wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Libya, resulting in close to a million deaths and some 38 million people driven from their homes,” he wrote in 2022. 

The Nato-led bombing of Libya in 2011 ignited a civil war that turned the country into a failed state and led to the re-emergence of open-air slave markets.