The North Atlantic Treaty Organization or NATO is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on 4 April 1949. The NATO headquarters are in Brussels, Belgium, and the organization constitutes a system of collective defence whereby its member states agree to mutual defense in response to an attack by any external party.
Formation 4 April 1949
Type Military alliance
Headquarters Brussels, Belgium
Membership 28 states
Official languages English,French
Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen
NATO Members comprises 28 members: 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, the United Kingdom, and the United States
| List of Secretaries Generals | | # | Name | Country | Duration | | 1 | General Lord Ismay | United Kingdom | 4 April 1952 – 16 May 1957 | | 2 | Paul-Henri Spaak | Belgium | 16 May 1957 – 21 April 1961 | | 3 | Dirk Stikker | Netherlands | 21 April 1961 – 1 August 1964 | | 4 | Manlio Brosio | Italy | 1 August 1964 – 1 October 1971 | | 5 | Joseph Luns | Netherlands | 1 October 1971 – 25 June 1984 | | 6 | Lord Carrington | United Kingdom | 25 June 1984 – 1 July 1988 | | 7 | Manfred Wörner | Germany | 1 July 1988 – 13 August 1994 | | – | Sergio Balanzino (acting) | Italy | 13 August 1994 – 17 October 1994 | | 8 | Willy Claes | Belgium | 17 October 1994 – 20 October 1995 | | – | Sergio Balanzino (acting) | Italy | 20 October 1995 – 5 December 1995 | | 9 | Javier Solana | Spain | 5 December 1995 – 6 October 1999 | | 10 | Lord Robertson | United Kingdom | 14 October 1999 – 17 December 2003 | | – | Alessandro Minuto-Rizzo (acting) | Italy | 17 December 2003 – 1 January 2004 | | 11 | Jaap de Hoop Scheffer | Netherlands | 1 January 2004 – 1 August 2009 | | 12 | Anders Fogh Rasmussen | Denmark | 1 August 2009–present |
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