context: NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO; French: Organization du traité de l'Atlantique Nord, OTAN) is a military-political bloc that unites most countries of Europe, the USA and Canada. It was founded April 4, 1949 in the United States, with the goal of protecting Europe from Soviet influence [~ 1] [~ 2] [~ 3] [~ 4] [~ 5]. Then 12 countries became NATO member states: the USA, Canada, Iceland, Great Britain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Norway, Denmark, Italy and Portugal. This is a "transatlantic forum" for consultations by the Allied countries on any issues affecting the vital interests of its members, including events that could jeopardize their security. One of the declared goals of NATO is to deter any form of aggression against the territory of any member state of NATO or to protect against it.
question: When was NATO founded?
answers.text: April 4, 1949