The 1974 Brussels summit was the second

NATO summit A NATO summit is a summit meeting that is regarded as a periodic opportunity for heads of state and heads of government of NATO member countries to evaluate and provide strategic direction for Alliance activities. NATO summits are not regular ...

bringing the leaders of member nations together at the same time. The formal sessions and informal meetings in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

took place on June 26, 1974. This twenty-fifth anniversary event was only the third meeting of the NATO heads of state following the ceremonial signing of the

North Atlantic Treaty The North Atlantic Treaty, also referred to as the Washington Treaty, is the treaty that forms the legal basis of, and is implemented by, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The treaty was signed in Washington, D.C., on 4 April 194 ...

on April 4, 1949.Thomas, Ian Q.R. (1997)
''The promise of alliance: NATO and the political imagination,'' p. 101.
/ref> The Summit took place 25 days before the

Turkish invasion of Cyprus The Turkish invasion of Cyprus began on 20 July 1974 and progressed in two phases over the following month. Taking place upon a background of intercommunal violence between Greek and Turkish Cypriots, and in response to a Greek junta-s ...

, the first war between 2 NATO Countries and parties.

Background

The organization faced a generational challenge; and the unresolved questions concerned whether a new generation of leaders would be as committed to NATO as their predecessors had been. The results of 1974 elections would change a significant number of officials at the top of allied governments—in the Britain,

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

Edward Heath Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 191617 July 2005), often known as Ted Heath, was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 to 1975. Heath a ...

was replaced by the election of Harold Wilson; in France,

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Georges Pompidou Georges Jean Raymond Pompidou ( , ; 5 July 19112 April 1974) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1969 until his death in 1974. He previously was Prime Minister of France of President Charles de Gaulle from 1962 to 196 ...

was replaced by Giscard d'Estaing; and in

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

, Chancellor

Willy Brandt Willy Brandt (; born Herbert Ernst Karl Frahm; 18 December 1913 – 8 October 1992) was a German politician and statesman who was leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) from 1964 to 1987 and served as the chancellor of West Ge ...

was replaced by

Helmut Schmidt Helmut Heinrich Waldemar Schmidt (; 23 December 1918 – 10 November 2015) was a German politician and member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), who served as the chancellor of West Germany from 1974 to 1982. Before becoming Ch ...

. The 1974 resignation of

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

caused Gerald Ford to become the new head of the American government.Thomas
p. 108.
/ref>

Agenda

The general discussions focused on the need to confirm the dedication of member countries of the Alliance to the aims and ideals of the Treaty in the 25th anniversary of its signature. In addition, there were informal consultations on East-West relations in preparation for US-USSR summit talks on strategic nuclear arms limitations.

Accomplishments

NATO leaders signed of the Declaration on Atlantic Relations which had been adopted by NATO foreign ministers in meeting in Ottawa a week earlier.

Notes

References

* Thomas, Ian Q.R. (1997)
''The promise of alliance: NATO and the political imagination.''
Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield. ;

External links