Throughout the Cold War, Iceland had several national debates about whether or not to withdraw from NATO. So the decision to join the Alliance as a founding member in 1949 was controversial. Icelanders have long been proud of their country’s pacifist tradition, which goes back further than its independence from Denmark in 1944. Iceland, unique among NATO Allies, does not have a military. Speaking at the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty Bjarni Benediktsson, Foreign Minister of Iceland
We neither have nor can have an army… But our country is, under certain circumstances, of vital importance for the safety of the North Atlantic area. My people are unarmed and have been unarmed since the days of our Viking forefathers.
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