A NATO summit is a summit meeting

Summit (meeting)

A summit meeting is a meeting of heads of state or government, usually with considerable media exposure, tight security and a prearranged agenda.Notable summit meetings include those of Franklin D...

 that is regarded as a periodic opportunity for Heads of State

Head of State

A head of state is the individual that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchy, republic, federation, commonwealth or other kind of state. His or her role generally includes legitimizing the state and exercising the political powers, functions, and duties granted to the head of...

 and Heads of Government

Head of government

Head of government is the chief officer of the executive branch of a government, often presiding over a cabinet. In a parliamentary system, the head of government is often styled prime minister, chief minister, premier, etc...

 of NATO member countries to evaluate and provide strategic direction for Alliance activities.

NATO summits are not regular meetings like the more frequent NATO ministerial meetings, but rather are important junctures in the alliance’s decision-making process on the highest level. Summits are often used to introduce new policy, invite new members into the alliance, launch major new initiatives, and build partnerships with non-NATO countries.

List of NATO summits

From the founding of NATO in 1949, there have been a total of twenty-four NATO summits; the last of which was the 2010 Lisbon summit

2010 Lisbon summit

The 2010 Lisbon summit was a meeting of the heads of state and heads of government of NATO held in Lisbon, Portugal, on 19 and 20 November 2010....

 held in November 2010. Only the traditional summits have received an official number, thereby excluding the exceptional summit of 2001 in NATO headquarters

	Summit	Date	Host country	Summary / Highlights
1	1957 Paris summit 1957 Paris summit The 1957 Paris summit was the first NATO summit bringing the leaders of member nations together at the same time. The formal sessions and informal meetings in Paris, France took place on December 16-19, 1957...	16–19 December 1957	Paris, France
2	1974 Brussels summit 1974 Brussels summit The 1974 Brussels summit was the second NATO summit bringing the leaders of member nations together at the same time. The formal sessions and informal meetings in Brussels, Belgium took place on June 26, 1974...	26 June 1974	Brussels Brussels Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union... , Belgium
3	1975 Brussels summit 1975 Brussels summit The 1975 Brussels summit was the third NATO summit bringing the leaders of member nations together at the same time. The formal sessions and informal meetings in Brussels, Belgium took place on May 29-30, 1975...	29–30 May 1975	Brussels Brussels Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union... , Belgium
4	1977 London summit 1977 London summit The 1977 London summit was the 4th NATO summit bringing the leaders of member nations together at the same time. The formal sessions and informal meetings in London took place on May 10-11, 1977...	10–11 May 1977	London, United Kingdom	First simultaneous summit with G7 3rd G7 summit The 3rd G7 Summit was held at London, United Kingdom between 7-8 May 1977. The venue for the summit meetings was the British Prime Minister's official residence at No...
5	1978 Washington summit 1978 Washington summit The 1978 Washington summit was the 5th NATO summit bringing the leaders of member nations together at the same time. The formal sessions and informal meetings in Washington, D.C. took place on May 30-31, 1978...	30–31 May 1978	Washington, D.C., United States
6	1982 Bonn summit 1982 Bonn summit The 1982 Bonn summit was the 6th NATO summit bringing the leaders of member nations together at the same time. The formal sessions and informal meetings in Bonn took place on June 10, 1982...	10 June 1982	Bonn Bonn Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999.... , West Germany West Germany West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
7	1985 Brussels summit 1985 Brussels summit The 1985 Brussels summit was the 7th NATO summit bringing the leaders of member nations together at the same time. The formal sessions and informal meetings in Brussels, Belgium took place on November 21, 1985...	21 November 1985	Brussels Brussels Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union... , Belgium
8	1988 Brussels summit 1988 Brussels summit The 1988 Brussels summit was the 8th NATO summit bringing the leaders of member nations together at the same time. The formal sessions and informal meetings in Brussels, Belgium took place on March 2-3, 1988.-Background:...	2–3 March 1988	Brussels Brussels Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union... , Belgium
9	1989 Brussels summit (May)	29–30 May 1989	Brussels Brussels Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union... , Belgium	40th anniversary of NATO
10	1989 Brussels summit (December)	4 December 1989	Brussels Brussels Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union... , Belgium
11	1990 London summit	5–6 July 1990	London, United Kingdom
12	1991 Rome summit 1991 Rome summit The 1991 Rome summit was the 12th NATO summit bringing the leaders of member nations together at the same time. The formal sessions and informal meetings in Rome, Italy took place on November 7–8, 1991.-Background:...	7–8 November 1991	Rome, Italy
13	1994 Brussels summit 1994 Brussels summit The 1994 Brussels summit was the 13th NATO summit bringing the leaders of member nations together at the same time. The formal sessions and informal meetings in Brussels, Belgium took place on January 10-11, 1994.-Background:...	10–11 January 1994	Brussels Brussels Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union... , Belgium
14	1997 Paris summit	27 May 1997	Paris, France
15	1997 Madrid summit	8–9 July 1997	Madrid Madrid Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan... , Spain
16	1999 Washington summit 1999 Washington summit The 1999 Washington summit was the 15th NATO summit and was held in Washington, D.C. on April 24-25, 1999.Held at the height of the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, the summit commemorated the fiftieth anniversary of NATO and reiterated the "determination to put an end to the repressive actions" by...	23–25 April 1999	Washington, D.C., United States	50th anniversary of NATO
| 2001 NATO Headquarters summit 2001 NATO Headquarters summit The 2001 NATO Headquarters summit was a special Meeting of the North Atlantic Council with the participation of Heads of State and Government on June 13, 2001....	23–25 April 2001	Brussels Brussels Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union... , Belgium
17	2002 Rome summit 2002 Rome summit The 2002 Rome summit was an exceptional NATO summit of NATO and Russia at the level of Heads of State and Government. NATO Allies and the Russian Federation created the NATO-Russia Council, which replaced the NATO-Russia Permanent Joint Council....	28 May 2002	Rome, Italy
18	2002 Prague summit 2002 Prague summit The 2002 Prague summit was a NATO summit where the heads of state and government of the NATO member states met. Seven states were at this summit invited to begin accession talks with NATO: Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. NATO's post-Cold War Open Door Policy...	21–22 November 2002	Prague Prague Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million... , Czech Republic	First summit in a former Warsaw Pact Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Treaty Organization of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance , or more commonly referred to as the Warsaw Pact, was a mutual defense treaty subscribed to by eight communist states in Eastern Europe...  country
19	2004 Istanbul summit 2004 Istanbul summit The 2004 Istanbul summit was held in Istanbul, Turkey from June 28 to June 29, 2004. It was the 17th NATO summit in which NATO's Heads of State and Governments met to make formal decisions about security topics...	28–29 June 2004	Istanbul Istanbul Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and... , Turkey
20	2005 NATO Headquarters summit 2005 NATO Headquarters summit The 2005 NATO Headquarters summit was a NATO summit held in the NATO Headquarters, Brussels, Belgium on February 22, 2005. During this summit, NATO leaders reaffirmed their support for building stability in the Balkans, Afghanistan and Iraq, and commit to strengthening the partnership between NATO...	22 February 2005	Brussels Brussels Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union... , Belgium
21	2006 Riga summit 2006 Riga summit The 2006 Riga summit or the 19th NATO Summit was a NATO summit held in Riga, Latvia from November 28 until November 29, 2006. The most important topics discussed were the War in Afghanistan and the future role and borders of the alliance. Further, the summit focused on the alliance's continued...	28–29 November 2006	Riga Riga Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,... , Latvia	First summit in a former Soviet Soviet Union The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....  republic
22	2008 Bucharest summit 2008 Bucharest summit The 2008 Bucharest Summit or the 20th NATO Summit was a NATO summit organized in Bucharest, Romania on 2 – 4 April 2008. Among other business, Croatia and Albania were invited to join the alliance. Republic of Macedonia was not invited due to its ongoing naming dispute with Greece...	2–4 April 2008	Bucharest Bucharest Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River.... , Romania	Croatia and Albania invited to join the alliance
23	2009 Strasbourg-Kehl summit 2009 Strasbourg-Kehl summit The 2009 Strasbourg–Kehl Summit was a NATO summit of heads of state and heads of government held in Strasbourg, France, and in Kehl and Baden-Baden, Germany, on 3–4 April 2009. The summit marked the 60th anniversary of the establishment of North Atlantic Treaty Organization...	3–4 April 2009	Strasbourg Strasbourg Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,... , France   Kehl Kehl Kehl is a town in southwestern Germany in the Ortenaukreis, Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the river Rhine, directly opposite the French city of Strasbourg.-History:... , Germany	60th anniversary of NATO
24	2010 Lisbon summit 2010 Lisbon summit The 2010 Lisbon summit was a meeting of the heads of state and heads of government of NATO held in Lisbon, Portugal, on 19 and 20 November 2010....	19–20 November 2010	Lisbon Lisbon Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban... , Portugal	http://www.mne.gov.pt/mne/pt/infopolitica/polexternas/ http://www.natowatch.org/node/308
25	2012 Chicago Summit	15-22 May 2012	Chicago, Illinois, United States	Second simultaneous summit with G8 38th G8 summit The 38th G8 summit is to be held in Chicago, Illinois, United States on May 15-22, 2012. The locations of previous G8 summits which were hosted by the U.S... .

Source: NATO, Summits & Ministerial Meetings