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
Montenegro–NATO relations followed in January 2016. NATO membership was an issue of debate during the October 2016 parliamentary election. The Democratic Party of Socialists, which has governed Montenegro since 1991 and supports membership, won the election with 41% of the popular vote. Montenegro became the 29th member of NATO on 5 June 2017 when it deposited its instrument of accession to the North Atlantic Treaty with the US State Department in Washington DC. On 7 June 2017, Flag of Montenegro was raised at NATO Headquarters in a special ceremony to mark the country's accession to NATO. Flag raising ceremonies were also held