BRUSSELS: Former Norwegian premier Jens Stoltenberg was named the next Nato chief on Friday, stepping in to take over from current secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmussen at a key moment in Europe.

“Mr. Stoltenberg will assume his functions as Secretary General as from 1 October 2014, when Mr. Fogh Rasmussen's term expires after 5 years and 2 months at the helm of the Alliance,” Nato said in a statement.

An economist by training and a radical opponent of the defence alliance in his youth, Stoltenberg takes the helm of the 28-nation transatlantic alliance as Europe worries over a Russian build-up on its eastern fringe after Moscow's takeover of Crimea.

“I've known Jens Stoltenberg for many years and I know he's the right man to build on Nato's record of strength & success,” Rasmussen, who hails from nearby Denmark, said on Twitter.

Stoltenberg, who is 55, was the only candidate for the job.

In almost a decade leading the government, Stoltenberg, who is the head of Norway's Labour Party, became known as a consensus maker, giving him some of the right credentials to maintain good relations with Russia.

Though he never had any particular fondness for defence or security matters, his time as premier of various governments left him with a strong international network and honed his skills as a cross-border negotiator.