Manfred Woerner

West German Defense Minister Manfred Woerner has been practically guaranteed the job of NATO secretary general when Britain's Lord Carrington retires next year, Bonn government sources said. They said the U.S. government assured Chancellor Helmut Kohl of its backing for Woerner, thus creating a majority for his candidacy among the 16 member nations of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

As senior ministers from NATO's 16 member nations gather here today at a commemorative service for the alliance's late secretary general, Manfred Woerner, they will start to address the crucial issue of succession. Although Woerner, who died here Saturday, had been fighting a losing battle against cancer for more than two years, there has been little thought given to a successor.

NATO Secretary General Manfred Woerner emerged Sunday from talks with President Bush to suggest that a reunified Germany could be a part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization without extending NATO's military reach over the territory that is now East Germany. Woerner said a way can and will be found to keep a united Germany in NATO while recognizing "the legitimate security interests of the Soviet Union." After two days of talks at the presidential retreat at Camp David, Md.

Manfred Woerner, the former West German defense minister who led the North Atlantic Treaty Organization for six crucial years that spanned the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union, died Saturday following a long battle with cancer. A statement issued at NATO headquarters here said Woerner, 59, died at his home in Brussels.

Manfred Woerner, new secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, said Tuesday that Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev should be challenged to back up his reform rhetoric by joining the West in fighting Third World hunger and preserving the environment, as well as in reaching new arms control agreements.

NATO Secretary General Manfred Woerner on Tuesday proclaimed a new era of partnership with Russia, the alliance's old Cold War foe, but said that actual Russian membership in NATO is not in the offing. "They did not request membership," he told reporters as he wrapped up a three-day visit to Russia and Ukraine.

Manfred Woerner, secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, declared Thursday that the alliance could play a wider role in areas of conflict that affect vital Western interests such as the present Persian Gulf crisis. It was the first time that Woerner had put on record his "personal opinion" that NATO could and should do more to support the U.S.-led multinational force in Saudi Arabia.

The appointment of West German Defense Minister Manfred Woerner as the new secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization seemed certain Monday when former Norwegian Prime Minister Kaare Willoch withdrew his candidacy for the post. Willoch's withdrawal averted what could have been an embarrassing fight within NATO, where, traditionally, a new secretary general is named by unanimous consent of the 16 member nations.

NATO Secretary General Manfred Woerner is heading for speaking engagements in California next week with an urgent message: The United States must retain its leadership in world affairs to ensure global stability. "California often looks toward the Pacific Rim," said the political leader of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in his spacious office here. "But without American leadership in Europe, the world would be more and more unstable."

Manfred Woerner, the former West German defense minister who led the North Atlantic Treaty Organization for six crucial years that spanned the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union, died Saturday following a long battle with cancer. A statement issued at NATO headquarters here said Woerner, 59, died at his home in Brussels.

NATO Secretary General Manfred Woerner is heading for speaking engagements in California next week with an urgent message: The United States must retain its leadership in world affairs to ensure global stability. "California often looks toward the Pacific Rim," said the political leader of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in his spacious office here. "But without American leadership in Europe, the world would be more and more unstable."

NATO Secretary General Manfred Woerner on Tuesday proclaimed a new era of partnership with Russia, the alliance's old Cold War foe, but said that actual Russian membership in NATO is not in the offing. "They did not request membership," he told reporters as he wrapped up a three-day visit to Russia and Ukraine.

Manfred Woerner, secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, declared Thursday that the alliance could play a wider role in areas of conflict that affect vital Western interests such as the present Persian Gulf crisis. It was the first time that Woerner had put on record his "personal opinion" that NATO could and should do more to support the U.S.-led multinational force in Saudi Arabia.

Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev, accepting an invitation to a future NATO meeting, called Saturday for a joint East-West declaration that would proclaim the end of the Cold War and move beyond it to establish a partnership ensuring European security.

With Western leaders puzzling over a new role for the 41-year-old Atlantic Alliance, the secretary general of NATO insisted Monday that the western sector of the unified Germany must serve as an arsenal for U.S. nuclear weapons. "It would be very bad if Germany would be de-nuclearized," said Manfred Woerner, the senior executive of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, after meeting with President Bush on the agenda of a hastily summoned NATO summit.

NATO Secretary General Manfred Woerner emerged Sunday from talks with President Bush to suggest that a reunified Germany could be a part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization without extending NATO's military reach over the territory that is now East Germany. Woerner said a way can and will be found to keep a united Germany in NATO while recognizing "the legitimate security interests of the Soviet Union." After two days of talks at the presidential retreat at Camp David, Md.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is in its umpteenth postwar "crisis." This time, familiarly, it's Washington and London against Bonn and the rest, more or less. We want to replace NATO's short-range Lance nuclear missiles based in West Germany, while Bonn wants to throw the Lance into arms control with Moscow soon. So, what's new? We've seen this all before. As usual, there is less than meets the eye to this crisis. But for the first time there is also more. There is less because the row is, for the United States, partly self-inflicted.

As senior ministers from NATO's 16 member nations gather here today at a commemorative service for the alliance's late secretary general, Manfred Woerner, they will start to address the crucial issue of succession. Although Woerner, who died here Saturday, had been fighting a losing battle against cancer for more than two years, there has been little thought given to a successor.

In another dramatic indication that Cold War animosities are disappearing, NATO foreign ministers issued an invitation Thursday to Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard A. Shevardnadze to visit the alliance headquarters for talks with Secretary General Manfred Woerner and other officials.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is in its umpteenth postwar "crisis." This time, familiarly, it's Washington and London against Bonn and the rest, more or less. We want to replace NATO's short-range Lance nuclear missiles based in West Germany, while Bonn wants to throw the Lance into arms control with Moscow soon. So, what's new? We've seen this all before. As usual, there is less than meets the eye to this crisis. But for the first time there is also more. There is less because the row is, for the United States, partly self-inflicted.