In the calendar of 1949 April 4 marked as a dayappearance of NATO on the initiative of the United States. The treaty on the creation of the North Atlantic alliance was signed on that day by the heads of 12 states in Washington. Members of the organization are countries that have access to the Atlantic Ocean: the USA, Canada, Norway, the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, France, Italy, Portugal, Luxembourg and the two island countries of the Atlantic - Iceland and the United Kingdom. The purpose of the treaty is to strengthen the military security of these countries, mutual assistance in the face of the threat of armed aggression against a NATO member. In those postwar years, the "cold war" began, and the capitalist countries feared the Soviet Union.
Flag of NATO
The official symbol of the North Atlantic Alliancewas approved in 1953 on October 14. The NATO flag, which first flew up in the sky over Paris, represents a rectangular blue cloth. In the center is a white emblem: a four-pointed star in a circle. From the rays oriented perpendicular to each other, straight white lines emerge.
The NATO flag is in proportions (conventional units of measurement): the parties have a ratio of 300: 400, a circle with a diameter of 115, rays - 150. The distance of the lines from the edge of the flag: along the length - 30, width - 10.
What do the figures and color mean?
The NATO flag focuses on the symbolism,accepted by mankind for a long time. Colors: blue - water (in this case - the Atlantic Ocean), white - perfection. The circle is a symbol of eternity and unity, the star is the rightly chosen path (to the creation of the world), clear straight lines - a strong union of like-minded people. Orientation of the rays points to the north-south-west-east: throughout the Atlantic there are member countries of the Alliance. At the headquarters of the organization (the capital of Belgium - Brussels) and wherever the official representatives of the Alliance are located, including on military courts, the NATO flag is flying.
Participating countries
At present, the Alliance after its sixthThe expansion includes 28 countries. The 12 founding countries were joined by: Greece, Turkey, Germany, Spain, Poland, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Albania and Croatia.
The NATO Secretary General, on the 13th, in March 2014, the Norwegian Jens Stoltenberg was elected, who started the leadership on 01.10.2014.
