Ex-NATO boss Stoltenberg gives up security conference presidency

Former NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said Monday he has given up the presidency of the Munich Security Conference in order to focus on his duties as Norway's finance minister.

The 67-year-old, who served as head of the transatlantic alliance for a decade, was appointed in 2024 to lead the annual event, one of the biggest annual gatherings on security and defence issues.

But he postponed taking up the post after being called into government by the Labour prime minister, his friend Jonas Gahr Store, in early 2025.

"For me, it is more important to be finance minister in Norway than to be the boss in Munich," he told the Dagens Naeringsliv (DN) newspaper on Monday.

"I love Norway, I'm interested in Norwegian politics, and I'm even more motivated than before to devote myself to it," he added.