Who is NATOs new General Secretary George Robertson?
On August 4, Britain’s Foreign Secretary George Robertson was named as the new general secretary of NATO. He is the third European social democrat in a row to hold the position. Unlike his predecessor, Spain’s Javier Solana, whom Robertson formally replaces in October, he has no previous history of radicalism from which he must distance himself. While Solana was active in anti-nuclear and anti-US protests, Robertson defended NATO and opposed unilateral disarmament at a time when official Labour Party policy advocated it. Throughout his career he has occupied a position on the right wing of the party, for which he will now be rewarded by a handsome tax-free salary of £140,000/$200,000 per annum. Speculation had centred on German Defence Minister Rudolf Scharping replacing Solana—as the favoured candidate of the Clinton administration—but Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder insisted his minister was unavailable. After this Britain’s Prime Minister Blair had private words with Bill Clinton. Robe
