NATO ambassadors chose former Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg as the next leader of the Western military alliance, NATO said on Friday, March 28, according to Reuters.

He will take over as secretary-general from October 1, succeeding Anders Fogh Rasmussen, NATO said in a statement.

Rasmussen said on social media site Twitter that Stoltenberg was "the right man to build on NATO's record of strength and success" and said the Ukraine crisis showed the need for NATO to have continued strong and determined leadership.

Stoltenberg, who served for nearly 10 years in total as Norway's prime minister before losing power in elections last September, was backed by the United States, NATO's dominant power, and Germany. British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Wednesday that he also backed Stoltenberg.

Rasmussen, a former Danish prime minister who took office in 2009, is due to step down at the end of September after a summit in Wales which will mark almost the end of NATO's combat mission in Afghanistan.