The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was created when twelve countries signed the North Atlantic Treaty in Washington: the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Italy, Portugal, Norway, Denmark and Iceland. It was a response to the Soviet Union's growing influence in Europe after the Second World War and the Berlin Blockade of 1948. Its central provision, Article 5, states that an armed attack on one member is to be treated as an attack on all, and it has been invoked only once, after the attacks of 11 September 2001. The Soviet bloc answered with the Warsaw Pact in 1955. After the Cold War, NATO added many countries from central and eastern Europe, and Finland and Sweden joined in 2023 and 2024.
Before and after
- 12 January 1949Birth of Haruki Murakami
- from 25 January 1949 to 28 June 1991Founding of COMECON
- March 1949Construction of Uniqlo
- 19 March 1949Birth of Valery Leontiev
- 4 April 1949Founding of NATO
- 8 April 1949Establishment of Plitvice Lakes National Park
- 15 April 1949Birth of Alla Pugacheva
- 28 April 1949London Declaration
- 30 April 1949Birth of António Guterres
More in Society, economy & sport
- 22 March 1945Founding of Arab League
- 27 December 1945Founding of World Bank
- 14 September 1960Founding of Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
- 1994Rise of Taliban
- 1 January 1995Founding of World Trade Organization
- 4 February 2004Founding of Facebook
The era
This moment belongs to the Contemporary world (1945 CE to today), the world since 1945. You can also browse everything in the 20th century.