Fonds IS - 04 - International Staff / International Secretariat

The NATO International Staff (IS) has its roots in a 1951 resolution outlining the need for a permanent organisation to support the Council Deputies (D-D(51)30). The staff was quickly in need of reorganizing, as seen in a report the following year; the Council Deputies recommended the appointing of a Secretary General at the head of a permanent International Staff (C9-D/4). After deliberation in the Council, The Final Communiqué from the Lisbon Conference, February 1952, establishes the post of Secretary General as the head of an International Secretariat, which would support the work of the Council (C9-D/22).On March 13th, 1952, Lord Ismay was appointed the first Secretary General and in April, the Organisation would move from the Belgrave Square offices in London to the Palais de Chaillot in Paris. National Delegations and International Staff began moving into their offices at Chaillot between the 15th and 17th of April, 1952 (D-N(52)25).Since the 1950s, the International Staff has grown from a few hundred staff members in 1954 to almost 1200 today (C-M(54)115). The NATO IS has reorganized several times since its establishment in order to meet new challenges and take advantage of new opportunities. The International Staff continues to fulfill its original role, which is to support the North Atlantic Council, the Committees and the Working Groups.