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
George Hyde (admiral) 3rd Battle Squadron of the British Home Fleet. He was given command of two s, , and then . After returning to Australia, he became the first naval member of the Australian Naval Board on 20 October 1931, and consequently, the first seagoing officer to become a first naval member. He became a vice admiral in 1932, was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in 1934, and was promoted to admiral in 1936. Taking over as the head of the Royal Australian Navy in 1931, Hyde was particularly concerned with the navy's inadequacy of defence, and