North Atlantic Treaty Organization

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO; pronounced /ˈneɪtoʊ/, NAY-toe);
French: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique Nord (OTAN)), also called "the (North) Atlantic Alliance", is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on April 4, 1949.

The NATO headquarters are in Brussels, Belgium, and the organization constitutes a system of collective defense whereby its member states agree to mutual defense in response to an attack by any external party.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization Organisation du Traité de l'Atlantique Nord
Flag of NATO[1]
NATO countries shown in blue.
Formation	April 4, 1949
Type	Military alliance
Headquarters	Brussels, Belgium
Membership	28 states[show] Albania Belgium Bulgaria Canada Croatia Czech Republic Denmark Estonia France Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain Turkey United Kingdom United States
Official languages	English French[2]
Secretary General	Anders Fogh Rasmussen
Chairman of the NATO Military Committee	Giampaolo Di Paola
Website	nato.int

French withdrawal

Map of the NATO air bases in France before Charles de Gaulle's 1966 withdrawal from NATO military integrated command.

 

 

The unity of NATO was breached early in its history, with a crisis occurring during Charles de Gaulle's presidency of France from 1958 onwards. De Gaulle protested at the United States' strong role in the organization and what he perceived as a Special Relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom.


In a memorandum sent to President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Prime Minister Harold Macmillan on September 17, 1958, he argued for the creation of a tripartite directorate that would put France on an equal footing with the United States and the United Kingdom, and also for the expansion of NATO's coverage to include geographical areas of interest to France, most notably Algeria, where France was waging a counter-insurgency and sought NATO assistance.

Membership

Main article: Members of NATO

Current members     Membership Action Plan       Promised invitation

Intensified Dialogue     Membership not a goal     Undeclared intent

NATO has added new members seven times since first forming in 1949 (the last 2 in 2009).

NATO comprises 28 members: Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States.