Jakob Gijsbert "Jaap" de Hoop Scheffer is a Dutch retired politician, jurist and diplomat who served as the eleventh Secretary General of NATO from January 2004 to August 2009. A member of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), which he led from March 1997 to October 2001, he served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from July 2002 until December 2003 under Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende.
De Hoop Scheffer in 2005
Secretary General of NATO Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and United States Secretary of State Colin Powell during a press conference at the Harry S Truman Building on 10 November 2004.
Secretary General of NATO Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and Secretary-General of the United Nations Kofi Annan during the Munich Security Conference of 2005 on 12 February 2005.
Secretary General of NATO Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel during a meeting at the Munich Security Conference of 2006 on 4 February 2006.
Secretary General of NATO
The secretary general of NATO is the chief civil servant of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), an intergovernmental military alliance with 32 member states. The officeholder is an international diplomat responsible for coordinating the workings of the alliance, leading NATO's international staff, chairing the meetings of the North Atlantic Council and most major committees of the alliance, with the notable exception of the NATO Military Committee, as well as acting as NATO's spokesperson. The secretary general does not have a military command role; political, military and strategic decisions ultimately rest with the member states. Together with the Chair of the NATO Military Committee and the supreme allied commander, the officeholder is one of the foremost officials of NATO.
Secretary General of NATO
Secretary General Joseph Luns meets with United States Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger on 25 May 1983.
Secretary General Javier Solana and Russian Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev on 1 October 1997.
Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen, US Defense Secretary Ash Carter and UK Defence Secretary Michael Fallon in Brussels, October 2015.