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NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANIZATION (NATO)
Membership and History


The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has its origins in the so-called "Brussels Pact", signed on 17 March 1948 between Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom to provide- among other things- for collective defense (presumably against the Soviet Union and its satellites). In June of that year, the Soviet blockade of Berlin began and, in the midst of this crisis, the United States began organizing a more comprehensive Western defensive alliance, including the members of the "Brussels Pact", which culminated in the North Atlantic Treaty, signed on 4 April 1949 and coming into force on 24 August 1949.

The table below lists all NATO Member-States and the date they, respectively, joined the organization. The term "original signatory" refers to the 12 Nation-States that signed and ratified the original North Atlantic Treaty in 1949.

 
NATO Member-State Date of NATO Membership
ALBANIA 1 April 2009
BELGIUM original signatory
BULGARIA 29 March 2004
CANADA original signatory
CROATIA 1 April 2009
CZECH REPUBLIC 12 March 1999
DENMARK original signatory
ESTONIA 29 March 2004
FRANCE original signatory
GERMANY [West Germany only until reunification, 3 October 1990] 5 May 1955
GREECE 18 February 1952
HUNGARY 12 March 1999
ICELAND original signatory
ITALY original signatory
LATVIA 29 March 2004
LITHUANIA 29 March 2004
LUXEMBOURG original signatory
NETHERLANDS original signatory
NORWAY original signatory
POLAND 12 March 1999
PORTUGAL original signatory
ROMANIA 29 March 2004
SLOVAKIA 29 March 2004
SLOVENIA 29 March 2004
SPAIN 10 December 1981
TURKEY 18 February 1952
UNITED KINGDOM [GREAT BRITAIN] original signatory
UNITED STATES [of AMERICA] original signatory
 

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