Meet Patrice Baldi: NATO's Answer to Bad Hair Days

Three generations, three headquarters: the history of the Baldi salon

Mastering the scissors' art runs in the Baldi family. Already in 1962, Patrice's grandfather Vincenzo Baldi joined NATO as a hairdresser at the Alliance's former headquarters in Porte Dauphine in Paris. "My family initially came to France from Sicily," explains Patrice. "Thanks to an acquaintance who worked at the Italian Embassy in Paris and who informed my grandfather that there was a vacancy for a hairdresser at NATO, he applied for the job and started practising his profession, this time for the Alliance."

In Paris, the Baldi salon was just a small room with two chairs for the customers and catered only to men. When NATO moved to its new headquarters in Belgium in 1967, Vincenzo decided to relocate together with his family to Brussels to continue with the business. It paid off: at the new premises, the salon got more spacious and a hairdressing section for women opened soon.

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  • The Baldi salon in 1968 and 1970 following the move to the NATO Headquarters in Brussels
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  • The Baldi salon in 1968 and 1970 following the move to the NATO Headquarters in Brussels
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  • The Baldi salon in 1968 and 1970 following the move to the NATO Headquarters in Brussels

When Vincenzo passed away in 1986, his son Giuseppe took over the salon and ran it for 30 years, until his retirement. Afterwards, Patrice, the third generation of Baldi hairdressers, decided to continue with the family tradition and took the lead of the business, which in 2018 moved to its third and as of now final home - the new NATO Headquarters in Brussels.

Hair salon diplomacy: 60 years of cutting the hair of the NATO Secretaries General

Comparing his NATO salon experience to other hairdressers, Patrice appreciates the multicultural environment that the job brings. "Every day I get to meet customers from a multitude of nationalities with diverse cultures and backgrounds, many of them being diplomats or ambassadors. This is something that you cannot get at a salon outside of NATO," he says.

Throughout more than 60 years, the Baldi salon has welcomed numerous high-level customers, including NATO Secretaries General. "We have catered for many of them ranging from Manlio Brosio in the 1960s to the current Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, and we have made a lot of great memories together," shares Patrice. His father Giuseppe had a special affection for the former Secretary General, Manfred Wörner, who led the Alliance in the turbulent times of the end of the Cold War and the early 1990s, and who was, together with his wife, a regular customer at the salon. "My dad was a member of the NATO Staff Centre's organising committee and he had a chance to engage with them also outside of the salon during many sporting events, Christmas parties and dance evenings that they participated in."

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  • From left to right: Giuseppe and Patrice with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, 2024
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  • Patrice with Ambassador Nataliia Galibarenko, Head of Mission of Ukraine to NATO (on the right) and a his colleague Nancy (on the left), 2023

When discussing his relations with the clients, he admits that working for NATO also brings sometimes puzzling and funny situations. "You often get to know a member of a delegation, cut their hair regularly, play tennis together or have a drink or lunch with them only to have to refer to them as an 'Ambassador' in a more formal setting later," he laughs.

Coiffeur top secret: keeping up with hair trends at NATO

Hairdressers are often seen as the ones whom the customers confide in and share their personal troubles and worries with. How does this exchange work in a an environment with classified information? "For me, the trust between a client and the hairdresser is paramount," stresses Patrice. "But in all honesty, the chats with my clients never concern professional work - we talk about sports, family, vacations or leisure activities."

Although Patrice says that there is no such thing as a 'NATO haircut', he agrees that there are certain hairstyles that are more common within the Alliance due to its military dimension. "Short military haircuts with a fade on the sides and back are the most demanded ones," he explains. "But even NATO is not excluded from hair trends - for example, in the 1970s, every woman at the salon was asking for back then fashionable updos and curls."

For Patrice, the biggest fulfilment is seeing clients satisfied with their haircuts. "I am very proud of the work that we have accomplished over the past 60 years, be it the new hairstyles or providing quality haircuts to our customers."

However, when asked what he hates the most about his job, Patrice is very clear: "Clients not respecting their appointment times," he concludes.