Who was the first Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization?

General Hastings Lionel Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay, KG, GCB, CH, DSO, PC, DL (21 June 1887 – 17 December 1965), nicknamed Pug, was a British Indian Army officer and diplomat, remembered primarily for his role as Winston Churchill's chief military assistant during the Second World War and his service as the first Secretary General of NATO from 1952 to 1957.

In 1951, when Churchill again became Prime Minister, he appointed Ismay Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations. Ismay accepted the position, but resigned after only six months to become the first Secretary General of NATO in 1952. He served as Secretary General until 1957, and helped to establish and define the position. After retiring from NATO, Ismay wrote his memoirs, The Memoirs of General Lord Ismay, served on a variety of corporate boards, and co-chaired the Ismay–Jacob Committee, which reorganised the Ministry of Defence once again. He died on 17 December 1965, at his home Wormington Grange, Gloucestershire.