General Breuer, Known for COVID-19 Role, to Lead NATO Body

German General Carsten Breuer will become the new chairman of the NATO military committee, the North Atlantic Alliance's highest military body.

He was elected on Saturday by the chiefs of staff of the alliance's 32 member countries at a meeting in Copenhagen and will take office next summer.

Breuer will succeed Italian Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone. The committee's chairman serves as the chief military adviser to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

The appointment comes at a time when US President Donald Trump is demanding that European countries assume greater responsibility for the continent's defense.

European nations are also increasing their military spending in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Germany plans to raise its own to more than €200bn ($229bn) annually by 2030.

Breuer, 61, has served in the Bundeswehr since 1984 and previously took part in the NATO mission in Afghanistan. In Germany he earned the nickname "the chancellors' general" after then Chancellor Olaf Scholz tasked him with leading the crisis team during the COVID-19 pandemic.

(Reuters, est)