History and facts of NATO, the military alliance based in Brussels

(CNN) – Here’s a look at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), based in Brussels, Belgium.

Data

The organization’s bylaws establish that the signatory parties “will try to promote stability and well-being in the North Atlantic area” and “will unite their efforts for collective defense and the preservation of peace and security.”

April 4, 1949 – It is established after the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty by 12 countries in a ceremony in Washington.

2014-present – The current Secretary General is Jens Stoltenberg, former Prime Minister of Norway.

March 16, 2021 – The annual report of the general secretary.

The 30 member countries

Albania (2009)

Belgium (1949)

Bulgaria (2004)

Canada (1949)

Croatia (2009)

Czech Republic (1999)

Denmark (1949)

Estonia (2004)

France (1949)

Germany (1955, as West Germany)

Greece (1952)

Hungary (1999)

Iceland (1949)

Italy (1949)

Latvia (2004)

Lithuania (2004)

Luxembourg (1949)

Montenegro (2017)

Netherlands (1949)

North Macedonia (2020)

Norway (1949)

Poland (1999)

Portugal (1949)

Romania (2004)
Slovakia (2004)

Slovenia (2004)

Spain (1982)

Turkey (1952)

United Kingdom (1949)

United States (1949)

Chronology

April 4, 1949 – The 12 nations of Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States sign the North Atlantic Treaty in Washington, DC.

July 25, 1950 – First meeting of the members of the NATO Council in London. US Ambassador Charles M. Spofford is elected permanent president.

December 19, 1950 – US General Dwight Eisenhower is named First Allied Supreme Commander.

April 2, 1951 – The Allied Command in Europe becomes operational with the Supreme Headquarters of the Allied Powers in Europe in Roquencourt, near Paris.

March 12, 1952 – Lord Ismay is appointed First Secretary General of NATO and Vice President of the North Atlantic Council.

April 10, 1952 – The Allied Command of the Atlantic goes into operation, based in Norfolk, Virginia.

April 16, 1952 – NATO establishes its provisional headquarters in Paris, at the Palais de Chaillot.

April 28, 1952 – First meeting of the North Atlantic Council in permanent session in Paris.

May 6, 1952 – West Germany joins NATO.

May 14, 1955 – The Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc countries form the Warsaw Pact in response to West Germany’s entry into NATO.

July 26, 1956 – Egypt nationalizes the Suez Canal. France and Great Britain intervene with troops, against the wishes of the United States, causing a break in NATO.

August 13, 1961 – The Berlin Wall rises.

October 22-23, 1963 – NATO and the United States demonstrate the size and speed of their emergency forces by sending 14,500 US troops to West Germany for maneuvers.

March 10, 1966 – France formally announces its intentions to withdraw from NATO’s military structure, accusing the United States of having too much influence in the organization.

March 31, 1967 – Opening ceremony of the new NATO headquarters in Casteau, near Mons (Belgium).

August 14, 1974 – Greece, angered by NATO’s response to the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, withdraws from NATO’s military arm.

October 20, 1980 – Greece rejoins the military structure of NATO.

May 30, 1982 – Spain joins NATO.

November 9, 1989 – The Berlin Wall falls.

October 3, 1990 – Germany reunites after 45 years. With German reunification, East Germany abandons the Warsaw Pact and joins NATO.

1991 – The Warsaw Pact is dissolved.

December 13, 1991 – For the first time, the Soviet Union participates in NATO meetings as part of the North Atlantic Cooperation Council.

December 21, 1991 – Eleven of the republics of the former Soviet Union create a new Commonwealth of Independent States.

December 25, 1991 – The Soviet Union is officially dissolved with the resignation of Mikhail Gorbachev as president and commander-in-chief of the Soviet Forces.

February 28, 1994 – NATO forces shoot down four Serbian planes in violation of the UN-imposed no-fly zone in Bosnia. It is the first time that NATO has used force.

November 21, 1995 – After the Dayton Peace Accords, the war in Bosnia Herzegovina ends.

December 20, 1995 – The United Nations hands over command of military operations to the NATO Implementation Force (IFOR).

January 13, 1996 – Russian troops are deployed to support IFOR in Bosnia.

May 22, 1997 – NATO and the Russian Federation sign a security and cooperation pact, the “Founding Act”, which establishes a Permanent NATO-Russia Joint Council (PJC).

March 24, 1999 – NATO launches air strikes against Yugoslavia to end Serbian aggression in the Kosovo region.

April 4, 1999 – 50th anniversary of the founding of NATO.

August 22, 2001 – Operation Essential Harvest begins, the disarmament of ethnic Albanians in Macedonia.

September 12, 2001 – For the first time, NATO invokes Article V of the Washington Treaty, its mutual defense clause, in support of the United States after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

May 14, 2002 – Last meeting of the NATO-Russia Permanent Joint Council.

May 28, 2002 – NATO and Russia form the NATO-Russia Council (NRC), which makes Russia an associate member of the organization. The NRC replaces the PJC, created in 1997 by the NATO-Russia Founding Act.

November 21 and 22, 2002 – During the Prague Summit, NATO invites seven countries of the former Eastern Bloc, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia, to discuss their membership in the organization.

December 4, 2002 – US Under Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz speaks to NATO in Brussels and requests that member countries contribute forces for a possible campaign in Iraq.

January 22, 2003 – France and Germany block the debate on the war preparations presented by the United States. The American proposal included provisions for the defense of Turkey, the use of NATO equipment, and NATO’s role in postwar Iraq.

January 23, 2003 – Secretary General Lord Robertson announces his intention to resign in December.

February 10, 2003 – France, Germany and Belgium block a request by the United States for NATO to provide Patriot missiles, Aircraft Alert and Control System (AWACS) and other equipment to Turkey. The United States had made the request anticipating that Iraq would retaliate against Turkey in the event of war. Turkey invokes Article IV of the NATO statutes, which requires the organization as a whole to discuss threats to the security of any member nation.

February 11, 2003 – A meeting to discuss the confrontation over Turkey’s defense preparations ends after 20 minutes without any resolution.

February 16, 2003 – NATO presents three defensive plans for Turkey, in the event of a US war with Iraq:

– Deployment of NATO AWACS aircraft.
– NATO support for the deployment of theater missile defenses for Turkey.
– NATO support for the possible deployment of allied chemical and biological defenses.

February 19, 2003 – NATO deploys defensive assistance to Turkey in the form of missiles, chemical and biological defense mechanisms, and aircraft, should the war with Iraq go ahead.

January 5, 2004 – Dutchman Jaap de Hoop Scheffer becomes the new general secretary.

March 29, 2004 – NATO expands from 19 to 26 members when seven nations – Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia – join in an accession ceremony in Washington, DC. They are all former communist states of Eastern Europe.

April 2, 2004 – First meeting of the NATO-Russia Council with 27 members.

August 10, 2004 – NATO AWACS begin patrolling Greek airspace ahead of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. NATO’s presence at the Olympics is called Distinguished Games and includes the AWACS and the Multinational Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Force.

September 14, 2006 – Ukraine announces that it is shelving its aspirations to join NATO, due to opposition from Ukrainian and Russian public opinion.

2-4 April 2008 – NATO leaders hold a summit in Bucharest, Romania. Croatia and Albania are invited to join the alliance.

June 17, 2008 – French President Nicolas Sarkozy announces that France will rejoin NATO’s military command soon, 40 years after his departure.

April 3-4, 2009 – The 23rd NATO Summit also marks the 60th anniversary of the Alliance. The events are held in Strasbourg (France) and Kehl (Germany). During the summit, France rejoins the military command of NATO.

August 1, 2009 – Former Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen takes over as NATO’s 12th Secretary General.

November 19, 2010 – NATO adopts the Strategic Concept “Active Engagement, Modern Defense” for the next 10 years.

March 24, 2011 – NATO takes command to enforce the no-fly zone imposed on Libya by the United Nations.

March 29, 2011 – The Council of Europe blames NATO, among others, for the 63 deaths among the 72 African immigrants who were adrift for two weeks while trying to reach European shores from Libya in March 2011.

May 19, 2012 – Protesters take to the streets of Chicago before the start of the NATO summit. Anti-NATO protests near Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s home focus on the cost of the summit to the city and the city’s budget cuts on mental health.

May 20-21, 2012 – The 25th Summit is held in Chicago. During the summit, NATO accepts President Barack Obama’s timetable for ending the war in Afghanistan in 2014.

March 5, 2014 – In relation to the Ukraine crisis, Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen announces that NATO has decided to “put the full range of NATO-Russia cooperation under review” to send “a clear message that Russia’s actions have consequences.”

October 1, 2014 – Jens Stoltenberg becomes general secretary.

December 2, 2015 – NATO extends an official invitation to Montenegro to join the alliance.

February 11, 2016 – Secretary General Stoltenberg announces that NATO is deploying ships in the Aegean Sea to try to deter migrant smugglers from Turkey to Greece.

June 5, 2017 – Montenegro officially becomes a member of NATO.

March 27, 2020 – North Macedonia officially joins NATO.