António de Oliveira Salazar
Despite the authoritarian character of the regime, Portugal did not experience the same levels of international isolation as Spain did following World War II. Unlike Spain, Portugal under Salazar was accepted into the Marshall Plan (1947–1948) in return for the aid it gave to the Allies during the final stages of the war. Furthermore, also unlike Spain, it was one of the 12 founding members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) in 1949, a reflection of Portugal's role as an ally against communism during the Cold War in spite of its status as the only non-democratic founder. In 1950, Portugal joined the European Payments Union and participated in the founding of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) in 1960 and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in 1961. It joined the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade in 1962, and finally, Portugal signed a free trade agreement with the European Economic Community in 1972, still under the auspices of the "Estado Novo".
M60 Patton non U.S. operators
Portugal also received some 96 M60A3 tanks from redundant US Army inventory in Europe during 1991–92 as a result of the CFE Treaty. As of 2008, only 14 tanks were in the 1st Combat Squadron and the rest in reserve. Portugal{s armed forces function under NATO obligation to equip the First Composite Brigade to be at the disposal of the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) and started taking part in NATO exercises in 1980. They are grouped under NATO's Allied Forces Southern Europe PIGS (Portugal, Italy, Greece, Spain) battle group.