Lord George Robertson, NATO Secretary General

In his address at the Brookings Institution, Lord Robertson, the 10th Secretary General of NATO, will assess NATO’s preparedness for the new threats of the 21st century and its continued role in transatlantic relations.

Lord Robertson’s visit occurs one month before NATO’s 2002 Summit in Prague, which will be a transforming event for the transatlantic alliance. Up to nine new countries will be invited to join the alliance in the biggest expansion in its 53-year history.

Allied leaders will also agree on a major modernization of Allied military capabilities—the Prague Capabilities Commitment—including a new NATO Response Force designed to enable the alliance to respond effectively to today’s threats wherever they may emerge.

Since invoking the Washington Treaty’s Article 5 mutual self-defense provision for the first time following the September 11 terrorist attacks, NATO has developed defense plans against terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, and cyber attacks. These plans will be unveiled at the Prague Summit.

Lord Robertson will address all of these issues in his Brookings presentation. Formerly the Defense Secretary of the United Kingdom, Lord Robertson has been NATO’s Secretary General since 1999.

The Brookings Leadership Forum provides high-level government officials from around the world the opportunity to address members of the Washington policy community and to share their insights and perspectives on world events as well as on issues of particular concern to their countries.