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
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