Member states of NATO members and three former Yugoslav republics) from 12 March 1999 to 5 June 2017. NATO has added new members seven times since its founding in 1949, and since 2017 NATO has had 29 members. Twelve countries were part of the founding of NATO: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In 1952, Greece and Turkey became members of the Alliance, joined later by West Germany (in 1955) and Spain (in 1982). In 1990, with the reunification of Germany, NATO grew to include the former country of East Germany. Between
NATO Committee on the Challenges of Modern Society participation from member and partner nations the committees combined to form the Science for Peace and Security Committee on June 28, 2006. NATO Committee on the Challenges of Modern Society The NATO Committee on the Challenges of Modern Society (NATO/CCMS) was a scientific research committee created in 1969 by the North Atlantic Council to study environmental problems of various nations, and the quality of life of their people. US President Richard Nixon had suggested on NATOs twentieth anniversary to install the new body to work on the environment. President Nixon suggested a few new initiatives for NATO. Aside from the