History of NATO Atlantic Treaty, which was signed by US President Harry S. Truman in Washington on 4 April 1949. It included the five Treaty of Brussels states plus the United States, Canada, Portugal, Italy, Norway, Denmark and Iceland. The first NATO Secretary General, Lord Ismay, stated in 1949 that the organization's goal was "to keep the Russians out, the Americans in, and the Germans down". Popular support for the Treaty was not unanimous, and some Icelanders participated in a pro-neutrality, anti-membership riot in March 1949. The creation of NATO can be seen as the primary institutional consequence of a school of thought
Council of the Nation Council of the Nation The Council of the Nation ("majlis al'umma") is the upper house of the Algerian Parliament. It is composed of 144 members, 2/3 of which are elected indirectly and 1/3 of which are appointed by the president. Abdelkhader Bensalah was elected as President of the Council of the Nation on July 2, 2002, re-elected on January 11, 2007 and January 10, 2008. Zohra Drif was elected as Vice-president of the Council of the Nation on September 10, 2002, re-elected on March 7, 2007 and March 8, 2008. The Council has 144 members: There are 48 dual-member constituencies