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flag of NATO
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Flag of NATO featuring a white compass rose emblem with four lines radiating from the center on a blue background.
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flag of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
French::
drapeau de l’Organisation du TraitĂ© de l’Atlantique Nord (OTAN)
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flag of NATO

Also known as: drapeau de l’Organisation du TraitĂ© de l’Atlantique Nord, flag of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization(Show More)
Written by
Amy McKenna
Amy McKenna is a senior editor, primarily focused on geography and history matters pertaining to sub-Saharan Africa. She joined Encyclopaedia Britannica in 2004. She was previously employed by Standard...
Amy McKenna
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Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
Britannica Editors
History
Flag of NATO featuring a white compass rose emblem with four lines radiating from the center on a blue background.
flag of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)Flag consisting of a dark blue field with a white compass rose centered, from which four white lines radiate. The flag's width-to-length ratio is 3 to 4.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was founded in the aftermath of World War II (1939–45). The war had left western European countries economically weakened, and because they had reduced their armed forces after the war, they were also militarily vulnerable. Conversely, after the war the Soviet Union and its armies had a firm grip on central and eastern Europe. There were earlier moves toward creating a collective defense alliance to support political and economic stability as well as to counter further expansion by the Soviets. As the Cold War developed, the North Atlantic Treaty (also known as the Washington Treaty) was signed by 10 western European countries, the United States, and Canada on April 4, 1949, providing the basis for NATO. The North Atlantic Council was established as the organization’s governing body.

A flag was not immediately adopted for the new organization, although the idea had been discussed. A NATO Information Policy Working Group was created in 1952 and recommended that NATO have a flag, a sentiment echoed by NATO’s first secretary-general, Lord Ismay; in October of that year he was reported to have requested that the organization adopt an emblem and a flag to help build public awareness and support for the nascent group. The North Atlantic Council provided general guidelines for the design of a potential emblem to be used on NATO’s flag, instructing that it be simple, striking, illustrative of the North Atlantic community’s traditions and ideals, and representative of the peaceful mission of NATO. Hundreds of designs were reportedly considered.

The NATO flag design was adopted on October 14, 1953. It has a dark blue background, which symbolizes the Atlantic Ocean. A white compass rose emblem (a four-pointed star against the outline of a circle) is at the flag’s center, with four white lines radiating outward. When Lord Ismay described the emblem design in 1953, he referred to it as “a four-pointed star representing the compass that keeps us on the right road, the path of peace, and a circle representing the unity that binds together the 14 countries of NATO.”

Amy McKenna