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
The Accidental Admiral The Accidental Admiral The Accidental Admiral: A Sailor Takes Command at NATO is a 2014 memoir by James G. Stavridis, a retired four-star admiral in the United States Navy. In this work he recounts his experiences as NATO's 16th Supreme Allied Commander Europe from June 2009 to May 2013 as well as his insights regarding leadership and the future of global security. In this "memoir of leadership and life lessons," Admiral Stavridis describes the challenges he faced as the most senior leader of NATO, including the complicated operations in Afghanistan, "military intervention in Libya, preparing for possible war in Syria,