The 2019 London Summit of the

North Atlantic Treaty Organization The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental transnational military alliance of 32 member states—30 European and 2 North American. Established in the aftermat ...

(NATO) was the 29th formal meeting of the

heads of state A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 "

he head of state He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...

being an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...

and

heads of government In the executive branch, the head of government is the highest or the second-highest official of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a ...

of the

. It was held in The Grove, Watford, Hertfordshire, England, United Kingdom, on 3 and 4 December 2019. It also marked the 70th anniversary of the founding of NATO.

Leaders and other dignitaries in attendance

Member states

Non-member states and organisations

Controversies

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

said

French President The president of France, officially the president of the French Republic (), is the executive head of state of France, and the commander-in-chief of the French Armed Forces. As the presidency is the supreme magistracy of the country, the pos ...

Emmanuel Macron Emmanuel Jean-Michel Frédéric Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France and Co-Prince of Andorra since 2017. He was Ministry of Economy and Finance (France), Minister of Economics, Industr ...

's November comment that NATO was in a state of "brain death" for its reaction to the

2019 Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria On 9 October 2019, the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) and the Syrian National Army (SNA) launched an offensive against the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and later it involved the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) in northern Syria. It was code-named the Op ...

was "very, very nasty." Macron stands by NATO 'brain death' comment in clash with Trump
Al Jazeera. Retrieved 4 December 2019 The two leaders disagreed about terrorism, trade, and France's contributions to NATO's budget. Trump mentioned the possibility of France "breaking off" from NATO, although Macron made no such suggestion.Trump and Macron clash as Nato leaders gather
Michael Peel and Laura Pitel, ''Financial Times'', 4 December 2019

Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

and

British Prime Minister The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet, and selects its ministers. Modern pri ...

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born 19 June 1964) is a British politician and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He wa ...

did not meet because Johnson was concerned about Trump's possible interference with the 12 December UK General Election.NATO summit: Trump calls Trudeau 'two-faced' over gossip video
Sky News, 4 December 2019 While meeting with

Canadian Prime Minister The prime minister of Canada () is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the confidence of a majority of the elected House of Commons; as such, the prime minister typically sits as a ...

Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau (born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who served as the 23rd prime minister of Canada from 2015 to 2025. He led the Liberal Party from 2013 until his resignation in 2025 and was the member of Parliament ...

, Trump complained that Canada is "slightly delinquent" in its contribution to NATO because it pays less than 2% of its GDP on the

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

.World leaders appear to mock Trump during tense NATO summit
CBS News, 4 December 2019 The two leaders had a friendly discussion about the

United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement The Agreement between the United States of America, the United Mexican States, and Canada (USMCA)Each signatory has a different name for the agreement—in the United States, it is called the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) ...

. Later, during a reception at

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...

, Trudeau, Johnson, Macron, and Dutch Prime Minister

Mark Rutte Mark Rutte (; born 14 February 1967) is a Dutch politician who has served as the 14th Secretary General of NATO, secretary general of NATO since October 2024. He previously served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands, prime minister of the Neth ...

seemed to mock Trump because of a 45-minute press conference. In turn, Trump called Trudeau, "two-faced," referencing Canada's military spending.

Turkish President The president of Turkey, officially the president of the Republic of Türkiye (), is the head of state and head of government of Turkey. The president directs the executive branch of the national government and is the commander-in-chief of the ...

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician who is the 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as the 25th prime minister of Turkey, prime minister from 2003 to 2014 as part of the Jus ...

insisted that NATO members formally recognize the Kurdish YPG as a terrorist organization.Turkey to oppose NATO plan if it fails to recognize terrorism threats: Erdogan
Reuters World News, 3 December 2019 Erdoğan and Greek Prime Minister

Kyriakos Mitsotakis Kyriakos Mitsotakis (, ; born 4 March 1968) is a Greek politician currently serving as the prime minister of Greece since July 2019, except for a month between May and June 2023. Mitsotakis has been president of the New Democracy (Greece), New ...

also met to discuss a contentious maritime agreement signed between Turkey and Libya for the definition of maritime zones in the

Eastern Mediterranean The Eastern Mediterranean is a loosely delimited region comprising the easternmost portion of the Mediterranean Sea, and well as the adjoining land—often defined as the countries around the Levantine Sea. It includes the southern half of Turkey ...

.Mitsotakis-Erdogan meeting on Wed. in London
Naftemporiki, 3 December 2019

Other

Due to its political crisis, Spain was the last country left to approve North Macedonia's NATO membership; nonetheless,

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

was given a seat at the summit alongside other members and represented by a delegation headed by Prime Minister Zoran Zaev. On 26 November 2019, an earthquake struck Albania. At the NATO London summit, constructive discussions were held by Albanian Prime Minister

Edi Rama Edi Rama (born Edvin Kristaq Rama; 4 July 1964) is an Albanian politician, artist and writer who has been serving as the 33rd and incumbent prime minister of Albania since 2013 and chairman of the Socialist Party of Albania since 2005. He was M ...

with Macron, Trump, Trudeau, Johnson and other European leaders over establishing an international conference for financial aid.

References

{{First presidency of Donald Trump 2019 conferences 2019 in British politics 2019 in England 2019 in international relations 2010s in Hertfordshire 21st-century diplomatic conferences December 2019 in the United Kingdom Diplomatic conferences in the United Kingdom Events in England History of Watford NATO summits First presidency of Donald Trump United Kingdom and NATO