NATO chief treated in hospital for blood clot

NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer addresses a news conference at the end of a NATO defence ministers meeting at the Alliance headquarters in Brussels in this file photo from June 12, 2009.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer was taken to hospital Tuesday to have a small blood clot cleared after feeling unwell during an event in Brussels, the military alliance said.

De Hoop Scheffer, 61, is due to step down as NATO chief at the end of this month and former Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen will replace him.

De Hoop Scheffer had been attending an event marking Belgium's national day when he began to feel unwell and initially went home to rest, a spokesman said.

"The procedure was carried out successfully, and the Secretary General is resting comfortably. He will stay in hospital for a few days for observation. He will make a full recovery," NATO said in a statement.

It did not say where the blood clot was and gave no other details.

The Dutchman, who became NATO chief in January 2004, had been due to attend a farewell ceremony in Berlin Tuesday evening.

(Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop; editing by Ralph Boulton)