ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, December 2, 1995 TAG: 9512040034
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
SOURCE: Associated Press
NATO appointed Foreign Minister Javier Solana of Spain as its chief today, ending a six-week leadership vacuum just as the alliance prepares to embark on its biggest military operation: the deployment of 60,000 troops to police the Bosnia peace accord.
The 16-member alliance had been without a leader since Oct. 20, when Willy Claes was forced to resign because of his implication in a government corruption scandal in his native Belgium. Members had been deadlocked for weeks over who should succeed him.
In a statement, NATO ambassadors said they unanimously backed Solana, 53, for the top civilian post at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. In the 1970s and early 1980s he was a vocal opponent of Spain's entry into the alliance.
``We have a new secretary-general,'' U.S. Ambassador Robert Hunter told The Associated Press. ``We are delighted by the selection of Mr. Solana.''
The decision clears the way for Solana's formal appointment at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels on Tuesday.
The main barrier to Solana's appointment was removed Thursday when Washington indicated it would support him even though Spain's NATO troops are not fully under alliance command. Many European allies had already backed him.
``We have no worries at all about Mr. Solana's views,'' Hunter said in a telephone interview. ``Minister Solana has great potential to become an outstanding secretary-general at a critical time.''
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