Calls For NATO HQ To Be Named After John McCain

Three former NATO Secretary Generals are campaigning to name the NATO headquarters after the late US Senator John McCain.

Sen McCain died last week following a battle with brain cancer.

Posting on Twitter, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, former NATO Secretary General, said: "I can think of no more fitting tribute to Senator John McCain than to name the new NATO HQ after him."

Mr Rasmussen has joined Lord Robertson of Port Ellen and Javier Solana in the campaign.

In a letter which was published in The Times the three former Secretary Generals, said: 

"We believe that the transatlantic alliance is the cornerstone of a stable, peaceful and free world.

"Few things symbolise this alliance, and the enduring benefits of American global leadership, more vividly than the life and work of John McCain.

"Despite his being a US Senator, across Europe we all felt that John McCain III was one of our own."

At the end of the letter the three "urge NATO" to honour the war hero with this tribute:

"We urge NATO to repay this lifetime of service to its mission by naming its new Brusels headquarters after Senator McCain."

The idea was also backed by Republican Sen Marco Rubio of Florida:

Sen McCain was seen as a leading voice of advocating the transatlantic alliance, who championed the expansion of NATO membership to other countries in Europe.

After his passing, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg paid tribute to him:

"He will be remembered ‎both in Europe and North America for his courage and character and as a strong supporter of NATO."

Tom Tugendhat MP, Chair for the Foreign Affairs Committee has written to Mr Stoltenburg calling for the new headquarters to be named after Sen McCain. 

Within the letter, he wrote: "There could be no more fitting tribute to his career and the values that Senator McCain espoused - but also no better message for NATO to send at this time of global tension - than to name its new headquarters building after the American statesman."

NATO personnel moved into the new headquarters facility earlier this year.

It can house nearly 4,000 military and civilian personnel from the alliance's 29 members.