Danish P.M. to be NATO secretary-general

STRASBOURG, France, April 4 (UPI) -- Anders Fogh Rasmussen, prime minister of Denmark, will be the next NATO secretary-general, current NATO chief Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said Saturday.

Rasmussen noted after the announcement by the current NATO secretary-general that his appointment comes as the international organization is marking its 60th anniversary, The Daily Telegraph reported.

"This is not just a historic day because a Dane has assumed this post for the first time, but first and foremost because we are celebrating the 60th anniversary of the most successful peace movement the world has ever known," the Danish official said.

Rasmussen new post as NATO secretary-general, set to begun Aug. 1, will likely prompt protests by Muslims worldwide, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.

"We are receiving telephone calls from the Islamic world, telling us: 'By God, this person should not become the secretary-general of NATO,'" Erdogan said Friday.

The Telegraph said Rasmussen angered members of the Muslim world by not apologizing for Danish cartoons that contained the Prophet Mohammed.