Jens Stoltenberg prepares to face Putin in another year at NATO meeting

BRUSSELS — Five months ago, Jens Stoltenberg is preparing for a light job in Norway, running one of the world’s most stable central banks and wealthiest sovereign wealth funds. Instead, he is now facing extreme risks like nuclear war after signing for a special fourth term as NATO Secretary-General.

Mr. Stoltenberg, a former prime minister of Norway, began leading the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 2014, months after Russia seized the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine and incited an uprising in the east of the country. Since then, he has overseen the largest transformation and expansion of the Western military alliance since the Cold War.