View source for Flag of NATO

{{Short description|none}}
{{Infobox flag
| Name = North Atlantic Treaty Organization
| Image = Flag of NATO.svg
| Alt = Flag of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
| Use = 000000
| Symbol = {{FIAV|normal}}
| Proportion = 3:4<ref>{{cite web |url=http://nato.int/nato_static_fl2014/assets/pictures/history_dyn_a-star-is-born/20161103_e1-symbols_a-star-is-born_nato-flag.jpg |title=Archived copy |website=nato.int |access-date=January 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170617061451/http://nato.int/nato_static_fl2014/assets/pictures/history_dyn_a-star-is-born/20161103_e1-symbols_a-star-is-born_nato-flag.jpg |archive-date=17 June 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
| Adoption = {{Start date|1953|10|14}}
| Design = A dark blue ([[Pantone#Pantone Color Matching System|Pantone]] 280 C) field charged with a white [[compass rose]] emblem from which radiate four white lines.
| Designer = 
}}

The '''flag of [[NATO]]''' (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) consists of a dark blue field charged with a white [[compass rose]] emblem, with four white lines radiating from the four [[cardinal direction]]s. Adopted three years after the creation of [[NATO]], it has been the flag of NATO since October 14, 1953. The blue color symbolizes the [[Atlantic Ocean]], while the circle stands for unity.

==History==
{{Multiple image
|image1=First NATO flag with Eisenhower.jpg
|footer=[[Supreme Allied Commander Europe|Supreme Commander]] (SACEUR) [[Dwight Eisenhower|Eisenhower]] presenting the flag of [[Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe]] (SHAPE) on 8 October 1951 (l.) This emblem also served as NATO's first flag, until the compass rose emblem was adopted 1953.
 | width1 = 162
|image2=Flag of Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe.svg
 | width2 = 260
}}
The [[North Atlantic Treaty Organization]] was established on April 4, 1949, when twelve nations signed the [[North Atlantic Treaty]] to counteract the threat from the [[Soviet Union]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Cavendish|first=Richard|year=1999|title=The Founding of NATO|journal=History Today|volume=49|issue=4|access-date=March 5, 2014|url=http://www.historytoday.com/richard-cavendish/founding-nato}}</ref> 
The first flag used by NATO was unveiled October 5, 1951, by Gen. [[Dwight Eisenhower]], who helped design it.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Associated Press |title=NATO Flag is Raised at Ike Headquarters |work=Cincinnati Enquirer |date=6 October 1951}}</ref> The 1951 flag consisted of a green field with the coat of arms of the [[Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe]] (SHAPE), which still uses the flag. 

The first flag attracted criticism from US Congressman [[John Travers Wood]], who condemned it as a "strange and alien rag" after an incident where the [[flag of the United States]] was allegedly replaced by the NATO flag in [[Norfolk, Virginia]], the headquarters of the [[Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic]].<ref name=raps>{{cite news|title=Idaho Lawmaker Raps NATO Flag|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1314&dat=19520418&id=dzBWAAAAIBAJ&pg=7170,3197196|date=April 18, 1952|page=12|access-date=March 5, 2014|newspaper=The Spokesman-Review|agency=Associated Press}}</ref>

NATO began looking for an emblem to differentiate it from SHAPE, a task handled by the newly formed Information Policy Working Group. After several discussions, it concluded that a flag for the organization containing its emblem was necessary, and that it would recommend this to the [[North Atlantic Council]].<ref name=NATO>{{cite web|title=The Birth of the Emblem|url=http://www.nato.int/history/nato-history-emblem.html|work=NATO.int|publisher=North Atlantic Treaty Organization|access-date=September 12, 2016|url-status=bot: unknown|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160912193756/http://www.nato.int/history/nato-history-emblem.html|archive-date=September 12, 2016}}</ref>
The council stipulated that the design had to be "simple and striking," in addition to highlighting the "peaceful purpose" of the Treaty; several proposals were rejected.<ref name=NATO/> An emblem of NATO was finally adopted on October 14, 1953. The decision was announced by [[Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay]] – the first [[Secretary General of NATO]] – exactly two weeks later on October 28, where he also elaborated on the symbolism behind the chosen design.<ref name=NATO/> He described the flag as "simple and inoffensive."<ref>{{cite news|title=NATO: The Colors|url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,819150,00.html|date=November 9, 1953|access-date=March 5, 2014|magazine=Time|archive-date=October 9, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191009122920/http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,819150,00.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The modern flag was first hoisted on November 9, 1953, at the opening ceremony of the Atlantic Exhibition in [[Paris]].<ref name=NATO/><ref>{{cite news|title=NATO Flag Flown|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1350&dat=19531110&id=G1lOAAAAIBAJ&pg=3663,4932553|date=November 10, 1953|page=2|access-date=March 5, 2014|newspaper=Toledo Blade|agency=Reuters}}</ref> However, little is known about the occasion, since no documentation of the speech delivered at the event exists.<ref name=NATO/>

==Design==
The colors of the flag carry cultural, political, and regional meanings. The dark blue field represents the [[Atlantic Ocean]], while the circle stands for unity among the [[member states of NATO]]. The [[compass rose]] symbolizes the direction towards the path of peace, the goal that member states strive for; it has been updated once.<ref name=NATO/><ref>{{cite web|title=Le Drapeau de L'OTAN—The Flag of NATO|url=http://www.cpva.ca/documents_e/cpva/symbols/FA%20NATO%20OTAN.pdf|work=CPVA.ca|publisher=Canadian Peacekeeping Veterans Association|access-date=March 6, 2014|archive-date=June 13, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100613044516/http://www.cpva.ca/documents_e/cpva/symbols/FA%20NATO%20OTAN.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>
{| class=wikitable width=20% style="text-align:center;"
|-
! [[File:Flag of NATO.svg|40px]]<br>Colors&nbsp;scheme<ref>{{cite web|title=Visual Identity Guidelines|url=https://www.jwc.nato.int/application/files/8415/6570/9049/NATO-VIGs-2016-en.pdf|work=NATO.int|publisher=North Atlantic Treaty Organization|access-date=April 26, 2024}}</ref>
! style="background:#004990; width:100px; color:white;"| Blue
! style="background:#FFFFFF; width:100px; color:black;" | White
|-
|[[Pantone]]
|280C
|White
|-
|[[Web colors|HEX]]
|#004990
|#FFFFFF
|-
|[[RGB color model|RGB]]
|0-73-144
|255-255-255
|-
|[[CMYK]]
|100-72-0-18
|0-0-0-0
|}

==See also==
* "[[The NATO Hymn]]"
* [[Flag of Europe]]
* [[Flag of the Western Union]]

==References==
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==External links==
*{{FOTW|id=nato|title=NATO}}
*{{cite web|url=http://nato.int/cps/en/natohq/declassified_136211.htm|title=A star is born|publisher=North Atlantic Treaty Organization}} 
{{Flags of International Organization}}
{{North Atlantic Treaty Organization}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:NATO, Flag of}}
[[Category:Symbols of NATO|Flag]]
[[Category:Flags of international organizations]]
[[Category:Flags introduced in 1953]]
[[Category:Rotationally symmetrical flags]]