Last Goodbye to old NATO Headquarters!
The site and the building of the old NATO Headquarters in Brussels were returned to the Alliance’s host country Belgium during a small ceremony today (1 September 2020). After the spaces were emptied and the temporary structures removed, the old building was handed over to its owner, the Belgian Ministry of Defence.
“Today we said our last goodbye to our old HQ, which has served NATO well through the decades, and where so many historic decisions were taken by Allies”, NATO’s spokesperson Oana Lungescu said. “We thank Belgium for having lent it to the Alliance for so long, and we are grateful for its continued hospitality in our new Headquarters across the road.”
Built in less than six months in 1966, the old headquarters was planned to be a temporary home for the Alliance when it relocated to Brussels in 1967. However, the building became NATO’s home for 51 years, during which it witnessed many decisions that shaped history.
In 2018 NATO moved to its new headquarters, fit for a modern, forward-looking Alliance.