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
Chairman of the NATO Military Committee Chairman of the NATO Military Committee The Chairman of the NATO Military Committee (CMC) is the head of the NATO Military Committee, which advises the North Atlantic Council (NAC) on military policy and strategy. He is the senior military spokesman of the 29-nation alliance and principal advisor to the Secretary General. The Chairman is one of the foremost officials of NATO, next to the Secretary General and the Supreme Allied Commander Europe. He is assisted by the Deputy Chairman, who advises the Deputy Secretary General and serves as the principal agent for coordination of nuclear, biological, and chemical matters for