This article is about the NATO body. For the US think tank, see Atlantic Council.
North Atlantic Council
BodyNATO
Secretary GeneralMark Rutte
Deputy Secretary-GeneralRadmila Šekerinska
AuthorityPrincipal political decision-making body
Foundation4 April 1949 (age 77)
Session roomIsaac Herzog in an official visit to the European Union in Brussels, January 2023 (GPOHZ0 3).jpeg
Session res250px
Meeting place NATO headquarters
Brussels, Belgium
Websitewww.nato.int/

The North Atlantic Council ( 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.[1] 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.[2] 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.[3]

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.[4]

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
PortraitNameCountryIncumbent since
Ilir GjoniAlbaniaSeptember 2023[5]
Ariadne PetridisBelgium16 August 2022[6]
Nikolay MilkovBulgaria10 May 2023[7]
Heidi HulanCanada6 June 2024[8][9]
Mario NobiloCroatia5 September 2017[10]
David KoneckýCzech Republic31 July 2024[11]
Lone Dencker WisborgDenmark2 September 2022[12]
Jüri LuikEstonia2 September 2022[12]
Piritta AsunmaaFinlandSeptember 2023[13]
David CvachFranceAugust 2024[14][15]
Géza Andreas von GeyrGermanyAugust 2023[16]
Vasiliki GounariGreece[17]
István BaloghHungary25 January 2023[18]
Hermann IngólfssonIceland15 December 2021
Marco PeronaciItaly[13]
Māris RiekstiņšLatvia1 September 2023[19]
Darius JauniškisLithuania18 April 2025[20]
Stephan Frédéric MüllerLuxembourg15 December 2021[21]
Milena KalezićMontenegroNovember 2023[22]
Thijs van der PlasNetherlands8 August 2022[23]
Dane TaleskiNorth Macedonia[13]
Anita NergaardNorwaySeptember 2022[24]
Jacek NajderPoland2025[25]
Pedro Costa PereiraPortugal9 December 2019[26]
Dan NeculăescuRomaniaFebruary 2022[27]
Peter BátorSlovakia8 February 2021[28]
Andrej BenedejčičSlovenia24 November 2023[29]
Federico Torres MuroSpain24 November 2022[30]
Jan KnutssonSweden25 August 2024 [31]
Basat ÖztürkTurkey29 May 2025 [32]
Angus LapsleyUnited KingdomApril 2025[33]
Matthew WhitakerUnited States25 April 2025[13]

See also

References

  1. ^ "The North Atlantic Council". NATO.
  2. ^ "REORGANIZATION OF THE NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANIZATION"
  3. ^ "nato.int: "NATO Permanent Representatives""
  4. ^ "North Atlantic Council"
  5. ^ NATO. "Ilir Gjoni, Permanent Representative of Albania to NATO". NATO. Retrieved 2023-12-22.
  6. ^ NATO. "Ariadne Petridis, Permanent Representative of Belgium to NATO". NATO. Retrieved 2023-05-13.
  7. ^ NATO. "Nikolay Milkov, NATO Permanent Representative for Bulgaria". NATO. Retrieved 2023-05-13.
  8. ^ Global Affairs Canada (June 6, 2024). "News release: Announcement of new diplomatic appointments". Retrieved October 2, 2025.
  9. ^ Global Affairs Canada (September 10, 2025). "Canada and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization". Retrieved October 2, 2025.
  10. ^ NATO. "Mario Nobilo, Permanent Representative of Croatia to NATO". NATO. Retrieved 2023-05-13.
  11. ^ "Velvyslanec David Konecký předal pověřovací listiny generálnímu tajemníkovi NATO" (in Czech). mzv.gov.cz. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
  12. ^ NATO. "Lone Dencker Wisborg, NATO Permanent Representative for Denmark". NATO. Retrieved 2023-05-13.
  13. ^ NATO. "NATO Permanent Representatives". NATO. Retrieved 2023-05-13.
  14. ^ NATO. "NATO Permanent Representatives". NATO. Retrieved 2025-04-01.
  15. ^ "Ambassador David CVACH". Permanent Representation of France to NATO. 2024-08-19. Retrieved 2025-04-01.
  16. ^ "Ambassador Dr Géza Andreas von Geyrs". Permanent Delegation of the Federal Republic of Germany to NATO. Retrieved 2023-12-22.
  17. ^ NATO. "Ioannis - Miltiadis Nicolaidis, Permanent representative of Greece to NATO". NATO. Retrieved 2023-05-13.
  18. ^ NATO. "István Balogh, Permanent Representative of Hungary to NATO". NATO. Retrieved 2023-05-13.
  19. ^ NATO. "Māris Riekstiņš, NATO Permanent Representative for Latvia". NATO. Retrieved 2023-12-22.
  20. ^ "Ambassador Jauniškis presented his letters of credence to the NATO Secretary General". Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Lithuania). 30 April 2025. Retrieved 7 May 2025.
  21. ^ NATO. "Stephan Frédéric Müller, NATO Permanent Representative of Luxembourg". NATO. Retrieved 2023-05-13.
  22. ^ NATO. "Milena Kalezić, NATO Permanent Representative for Montenegro". NATO. Retrieved 2023-12-22.
  23. ^ NATO. "Thijs van der Plas, Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to NATO". NATO. Retrieved 2023-05-13.
  24. ^ NATO. "Anita Nergaard, NATO Permanent Representative for Norway". NATO. Retrieved 2023-05-13.
  25. ^ *NATO. "NATO Permanent Representatives". NATO. Retrieved 2023-05-13. *"NATO Permanent Representative"
  26. ^ NATO. "Pedro Costa Pereira, Permanent representative of Portugal to NATO". NATO. Retrieved 2023-05-13.
  27. ^ NATO. "Dan Neculăescu, Permanent Representative of Romania". NATO. Retrieved 2023-05-13.
  28. ^ NATO. "Peter Bátor, Permanent Representative of Slovakia to NATO". NATO. Retrieved 2023-05-13.
  29. ^ NATO (November 24, 2023). "Ambassador Dr Andrej Benedejčič presents letters of credence to NATO Secretary General". Government of Slovenia. Retrieved 2023-12-22.
  30. ^ NATO. "Federico Torres Muro, Permanent Representative of Spain to NATO". NATO. Retrieved 2023-05-13.
  31. ^ NATO. "Jan Knutsson, Permanent Representative of Sweden to NATO". NATO. Retrieved 2024-12-28.
  32. ^ NATO. "Ambassador Basat Öztürk, Permanent Representative of Türkiye to NATO". NATO. Retrieved 2025-06-11.
  33. ^ "UK Permanent Representative to NATO Angus Lapsley". gov.uk. Retrieved 7 May 2025.

Bibliography