North Atlantic Council

☆ Save On Wikipedia ↗
North Atlantic Council
Coat of arms or logo
Type
Type
Committee
of the NATO
History
Founded4 April 1949 (1949-04-04)
Leadership
Structure
Seats
32 states:
Joint committees
20 reporting to NAC:[1]
  • Deputies Committee
  • Political Committee
  • Partnerships and Cooperative Security Committee
  • Defence Policy and Planning Committee
  • Committee on Proliferation
  • Digital Policy Committee
  • Operations Policy Committee
  • High Level Task Force on Conventional Arms Control
  • Verification Coordinating Committee
  • Conference of National Armaments Directors
  • Committee for Standardization
  • Logistics Committee
  • Resource Policy and Planning Board
  • Integrated Air and Missile Defence Policy Committee
  • Aviation Committee
  • Resilience Committee
  • Committee on Public Diplomacy
  • Council Operations and Exercises Committee
  • Security Committee
  • Civilian Intelligence Committee
  • Archives Committee
AuthorityPrincipal political decision-making body
Meeting place
NATO headquarters
Brussels, Belgium
Website
www.nato.int/
Footnotes
Historical meeting venues

The North Atlantic Council (abbr. NAC, French: Conseil de l'Atlantique nord) is the principal political decision-making body of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), consisting of permanent representatives of its member countries.[2] Its existence is mandated by Article 9 of the North Atlantic Treaty and it was established as a result. It is the only body in NATO that derives its authority explicitly from the treaty.

Powers and duties

The North Atlantic Treaty gave the NAC the power to set up subsidiary bodies for various policy functions, including a defense committee to implement other parts of the treaty. Since 1952, the NAC has been in permanent session.[3] The NAC can be held at the Permanent Representative Level (PermReps), or can be composed of member states' Ministers of State, Defense, or Heads of Government. The NAC has the same powers regardless of the formation under which it meets. The NAC meets twice a week: every Tuesday, for an informal lunch discussion; and every Wednesday for a decision-taking session. Usually, meetings occur amongst the permanent representatives who are the senior permanent member of each delegation and is generally a senior civil servant or an experienced ambassador (and holding that diplomatic rank). The list of permanent representatives may be found on the NATO website.[4]

The 32 members of NATO have diplomatic missions to the organization through embassies in Belgium. The meetings of the NAC are chaired by the secretary general and, when decisions have to be made, action is agreed upon on the basis of unanimity and common accord. There is no voting or decision by majority. Each nation represented at the NAC table or on any of its subordinate committees retains complete sovereignty and responsibility for its own decisions.[5]

Composition

Each member nation is normally represented on the North Atlantic Council by an Ambassador or Permanent Representative supported by a national delegation composed of advisers and officials who represent their country on different NATO committees.

North Atlantic Council
Portrait Name Country Incumbent since
Ilir Gjoni AlbaniaSeptember 2023[6]
Ariadne Petridis Belgium16 August 2022[7]
Nikolay Milkov Bulgaria10 May 2023[8]
Heidi Hulan Canada6 June 2024[9][10]
Mario Nobilo Croatia5 September 2017[11]
David Konecký Czech Republic31 July 2024[12]
Lone Dencker Wisborg Denmark2 September 2022[13]
Jüri Luik Estonia2 September 2022[13]
Piritta Asunmaa FinlandSeptember 2023[14]
David Cvach FranceAugust 2024[15][16]
Géza Andreas von Geyr GermanyAugust 2023[17]
Vasiliki Gounari Greece[18]
István Balogh Hungary25 January 2023[19]
Hermann Ingólfsson Iceland15 December 2021
Marco Peronaci Italy[14]
Māris Riekstiņš Latvia1 September 2023[20]
Darius Jauniškis Lithuania18 April 2025[21]
Stephan Frédéric Müller Luxembourg15 December 2021[22]
Milena Kalezić MontenegroNovember 2023[23]
Thijs van der Plas Netherlands8 August 2022[24]
Dane Taleski North Macedonia[14]
Anita Nergaard NorwaySeptember 2022[25]
Jacek Najder Poland2025[26]
Pedro Costa Pereira Portugal9 December 2019[27]
Dan Neculăescu RomaniaFebruary 2022[28]
Peter Bátor Slovakia8 February 2021[29]
Andrej Benedejčič Slovenia24 November 2023[30]
Federico Torres Muro Spain24 November 2022[31]
Jan Knutsson Sweden25 August 2024 [32]
Basat Öztürk Turkey29 May 2025 [33]
Angus Lapsley United KingdomApril 2025[34]
Matthew Whitaker United States25 April 2025[14]

See also

Notes

References

  1. "Committees reporting to the North Atlantic Council". Retrieved August 6, 2025 – via www.nato.int.
  2. "The North Atlantic Council". NATO.
  3. "REORGANIZATION OF THE NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANIZATION".
  4. "nato.int: "NATO Permanent Representatives"".
  5. "North Atlantic Council".
  6. NATO. "Ilir Gjoni, Permanent Representative of Albania to NATO". NATO. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
  7. NATO. "Ariadne Petridis, Permanent Representative of Belgium to NATO". NATO. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
  8. NATO. "Nikolay Milkov, NATO Permanent Representative for Bulgaria". NATO. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
  9. Global Affairs Canada (June 6, 2024). "News release: Announcement of new diplomatic appointments". Retrieved October 2, 2025.
  10. Global Affairs Canada (September 10, 2025). "Canada and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization". Retrieved October 2, 2025.
  11. NATO. "Mario Nobilo, Permanent Representative of Croatia to NATO". NATO. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
  12. "Velvyslanec David Konecký předal pověřovací listiny generálnímu tajemníkovi NATO". mzv.gov.cz (in Czech). Retrieved June 25, 2025.
  13. NATO. "Lone Dencker Wisborg, NATO Permanent Representative for Denmark". NATO. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
  14. NATO. "NATO Permanent Representatives". NATO. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
  15. NATO. "NATO Permanent Representatives". NATO. Retrieved April 1, 2025.
  16. "Ambassador David CVACH". Permanent Representation of France to NATO. August 19, 2024. Retrieved April 1, 2025.
  17. "Ambassador Dr Géza Andreas von Geyrs". Permanent Delegation of the Federal Republic of Germany to NATO. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
  18. NATO. "Ioannis - Miltiadis Nicolaidis, Permanent representative of Greece to NATO". NATO. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
  19. NATO. "István Balogh, Permanent Representative of Hungary to NATO". NATO. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
  20. NATO. "Māris Riekstiņš, NATO Permanent Representative for Latvia". NATO. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
  21. "Ambassador Jauniškis presented his letters of credence to the NATO Secretary General". Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Lithuania). April 30, 2025. Retrieved May 7, 2025.
  22. NATO. "Stephan Frédéric Müller, NATO Permanent Representative of Luxembourg". NATO. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
  23. NATO. "Milena Kalezić, NATO Permanent Representative for Montenegro". NATO. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
  24. NATO. "Thijs van der Plas, Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to NATO". NATO. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
  25. NATO. "Anita Nergaard, NATO Permanent Representative for Norway". NATO. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
  27. NATO. "Pedro Costa Pereira, Permanent representative of Portugal to NATO". NATO. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
  28. NATO. "Dan Neculăescu, Permanent Representative of Romania". NATO. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
  29. NATO. "Peter Bátor, Permanent Representative of Slovakia to NATO". NATO. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
  30. NATO (November 24, 2023). "Ambassador Dr Andrej Benedejčič presents letters of credence to NATO Secretary General". Government of Slovenia. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
  31. NATO. "Federico Torres Muro, Permanent Representative of Spain to NATO". NATO. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
  32. NATO. "Jan Knutsson, Permanent Representative of Sweden to NATO" (PDF). NATO. Retrieved December 28, 2024.
  33. NATO. "Ambassador Basat Öztürk, Permanent Representative of Türkiye to NATO". NATO. Retrieved June 11, 2025.
  34. "UK Permanent Representative to NATO Angus Lapsley". gov.uk. Retrieved May 7, 2025.

Bibliography