Permanent members of the United Nations Security Council

Permanent members

The following is a table of the current permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.

History

Based on the consensus concerning the Security Council's structure agreed upon at the 1944 Dumbarton Oaks Conference and subsequently at UN's founding in 1945, the five permanent members of the Security Council were the French Republic, the Republic of China, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States. There have been two seat changes since then, although these have not been reflected in Article 23 of the UN Charter, as it has not been accordingly amended:

• China's seat was originally held by the Nationalist government of the Republic of China (ROC). However, it lost the Chinese Civil War and retreated to the island of Taiwan in 1949. The Chinese Communist Party won control of Mainland China and established the People's Republic of China (PRC). In 1971, UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 recognised the PRC as the legal representative of China in the UN, and gave it the seat on the Security Council that had been held by the ROC, which was expelled from the UN altogether. Both the ROC and the PRC continue to claim de jure sovereignty over the entirety of China (including Taiwan). However, only 12 states continue to officially recognise the ROC as the sole legitimate government of China.
• After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia was recognised as the legal successor state of the Soviet Union and maintained the latter's position on the Security Council.

Additionally, between the founding of the United Nations and the end of the 20th century, many of the overseas territories of the United Kingdom and France became independent with the breakup of the British Empire and French colonial empire, and France had a reduction in de jure territory with the independence of Algeria in 1962. France maintained its seat as there was no change in its international status or recognition. (During this time, France also reformed its provisional government into the French Fourth Republic in 1946 and into the French Fifth Republic in 1958, both under the leadership of Charles de Gaulle.)

The five permanent members of the Security Council were the victorious powers in World War II and have maintained the world's most powerful military forces ever since. They annually top the list of countries with the highest military expenditures along with India and Germany; in 2011, they spent over US$1 trillion combined on defence, accounting for over 60% of global military expenditures (the US alone accounting for over 40%). They are also among the world's top 10 largest arms exporters and are the only nations officially recognised as "nuclear-weapon states" under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), though there are other states known or believed to be in possession of nuclear weapons.

Veto power

Main article: United Nations Security Council veto power

The "power of veto" refers to the veto power wielded solely by the permanent members, enabling them to prevent the adoption of any "substantive" draft Council resolution, regardless of the level of international support for the draft. The veto does not apply to procedural votes, which is significant in that the Security Council's permanent membership can vote against a "procedural" draft resolution, without necessarily blocking its adoption by the council.

The veto is exercised when any permanent member — the so-called "P5" — casts a "negative" vote on a "substantive" draft resolution. Abstention or absence from the vote by a permanent member does not prevent a draft resolution from being adopted.

Expansion

Main article: Reform of the United Nations Security Council

There have been proposals for the introduction of new permanent members. The candidates usually mentioned are Brazil, Germany, India, and Japan. They compose the group of four countries known as the G4 nations, which mutually support one another's bids for permanent seats.

This sort of reform has historically been opposed by Uniting for Consensus, which is composed primarily of nations that are regional rivals and economic competitors of the G4. The group is composed of:

• Italy and Spain (opposing Germany)
• Colombia, Mexico and Argentina (opposing Brazil)
• Pakistan (opposing India)
• South Korea (opposing Japan)
• Canada, Costa Rica, Malta, San Marino, Turkey

Since 1992, Italy and other council members have instead proposed semi-permanent seats or expanding the number of temporary seats. In 2024, the United States proposed the creation of two permanent seats on the Security Council for African countries, in the event of an expansion of the Security Council.

Most of the leading candidates for permanent membership are regularly elected onto the Security Council by their respective groups. Japan was elected for eleven two-year terms, Brazil for ten terms, and Germany for three terms. India has been elected to the council eight times in total, with the most recent successful bid being in 2020.

In 2013, the P5 and G4 members of the UN Security Council accounted for eight of the world's ten largest defence budgets, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

Leaders of the permanent members

The following are the heads of state or heads of government that represent the permanent members of the UN Security Council :

File:Xi Jinping 2025 (cropped).jpg|Xi Jinping Paramount leader of the People's Republic of China since File:Emmanuel Macron - June 2025 (3x4 cropped).jpg|Emmanuel Macron President of the French Republic since File:Presenting Gold Star medals to special military operation participants (2025-12-17) 14 (cropped).jpg|Vladimir Putin President of the Russian Federation since File:Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer Official Portrait (cropped).jpg|Keir Starmer Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland since Official Presidential Portrait of President Donald J. Trump (2025).jpg|Donald Trump President of the United States of America since

Historical leaders

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bar:cn from: 15/11/2012 till: $end color:ccp text:"Xi Jinping" from: 15/11/2002 till: 15/11/2012 color:ccp text:"Hu Jintao" from: 24/06/1989 till: 15/11/2002 color:ccp text:"Jiang Zemin" from: 22/12/1978 till: 24/06/1989 color:ccp text:"Deng Xiaoping" from: 09/09/1976 till: 22/12/1978 color:ccp text:"Hua G." from: 25/10/1971 till: 09/09/1976 color:ccp text:"Mao Zedong" from: 01/03/1950 till: 25/10/1971 color:kmt text:"Chiang Kai-shek" from: 20/11/1949 till: 01/03/1950 color:kmt text:"Yan" shift:(0,-10) from: 21/01/1949 till: 20/11/1949 color:kmt text:"Li" from: $start till: 21/01/1949 color:kmt text:"Chiang"

bar:fr from: 14/05/2017 till: $end color:re text:"Emmanuel Macron" from: 15/05/2012 till: 14/05/2017 color:ps text:"François Hollande" from: 16/05/2007 till: 15/05/2012 color:neo-gaullist text:"Nicolas Sarkozy" from: 17/05/1995 till: 16/05/2007 color:neo-gaullist text:"Jacques Chirac" from: 21/05/1981 till: 17/05/1995 color:ps text:"François Mitterrand" from: 27/05/1974 till: 21/05/1981 color:center-right text:"d'Estaing" from: 02/04/1974 till: 27/05/1974 color:center-right text:"Poher" from: 20/06/1969 till: 02/04/1974 color:gaullist text:"Pompidou" from: 28/04/1969 till: 20/06/1969 color:center-right text:"Poher" from: 08/01/1959 till: 28/04/1969 color:gaullist text:"Charles de Gaulle" from: 16/01/1954 till: 08/01/1959 color:center-right text:"René Coty" from: 16/01/1947 till: 16/01/1954 color:sfio text:"Vincent Auriol" from: 16/12/1946 till: 16/01/1947 color:sfio text:"Blum" shift:(0,-10) from: 28/11/1946 till: 16/12/1946 color:sfio text:"Auriol" from: 24/06/1946 till: 28/11/1946 color:center-right text:"Bidault" shift:(0,-10) from: 26/01/1946 till: 24/06/1946 color:sfio text:"Gouin" from: $start till: 26/01/1946 color:independent text:"de Gaulle" shift:(0,-10)

bar:ru from: 07/05/2012 till: $end color:uru text:Vladimir Putin from: 07/05/2008 till: 07/05/2012 color:uru text:Medvedev from: 31/12/1999 till: 07/05/2008 color:uru text:Vladimir Putin from: 26/12/1991 till: 31/12/1999 color:independent text:Boris Yeltsin from: 10/03/1985 till: 26/12/1991 color:cpsu text:"Mikhail Gorbachev" from: 09/02/1984 till: 10/03/1985 color:cpsu text:"Chernenko" shift:(0,-10) from: 10/11/1982 till: 09/02/1984 color:cpsu text:"Andropov" from: 14/10/1964 till: 10/11/1982 color:cpsu text:"Leonid Brezhnev" from: 07/09/1953 till: 14/10/1964 color:cpsu text:"Nikita Khrushchev" from: 05/03/1953 till: 07/09/1953 color:cpsu text:"Malenkov" from: $start till: 05/03/1953 color:cpsu text:"Joseph Stalin"

bar:uk from: 05/07/2024 till: $end color:lab text:"Starmer" shift:(0,-10) from: 25/10/2022 till: 05/07/2024 color:con text:"Sunak" from: 06/09/2022 till: 25/10/2022 color:con text:"Truss" shift:(0,-10) from: 24/07/2019 till: 06/09/2022 color:con text:"Johnson" from: 13/07/2016 till: 24/07/2019 color:con text:"May" from: 11/05/2010 till: 13/07/2016 color:con text:"David Cameron" from: 27/06/2007 till: 11/05/2010 color:lab text:"Brown" from: 02/05/1997 till: 27/06/2007 color:lab text:"Tony Blair" from: 28/11/1990 till: 02/05/1997 color:con text:"John Major" from: 04/05/1979 till: 28/11/1990 color:con text:"Margaret Thatcher" from: 05/04/1976 till: 04/05/1979 color:lab text:"Callaghan" from: 04/03/1974 till: 05/04/1976 color:lab text:"Wilson" from: 19/06/1970 till: 04/03/1974 color:con text:"Heath" from: 16/10/1964 till: 19/06/1970 color:lab text:"Harold Wilson" from: 19/10/1963 till: 16/10/1964 color:con text:"Home" from: 10/01/1957 till: 18/10/1963 color:con text:"Harold Macmillan" from: 06/04/1955 till: 09/01/1957 color:con text:"Eden" from: 26/10/1951 till: 05/04/1955 color:con text:"Churchill" from: $start till: 26/10/1951 color:lab text:"Clement Attlee"

bar:us from: 20/01/2025 till: $end color:gop text:"Trump" from: 20/01/2021 till: 20/01/2025 color:dem text:"Joe Biden" from: 20/01/2017 till: 20/01/2021 color:gop text:"Donald Trump" from: 20/01/2009 till: 20/01/2017 color:dem text:"Barack Obama" from: 20/01/2001 till: 20/01/2009 color:gop text:"George W. Bush" from: 20/01/1993 till: 20/01/2001 color:dem text:"Bill Clinton" from: 20/01/1989 till: 20/01/1993 color:gop text:"Bush" from: 20/01/1981 till: 20/01/1989 color:gop text:"Ronald Reagan" from: 20/01/1977 till: 20/01/1981 color:dem text:"Jimmy Carter" from: 09/08/1974 till: 20/01/1977 color:gop text:"Ford" from: 20/01/1969 till: 09/08/1974 color:gop text:"Richard Nixon" from: 22/11/1963 till: 20/01/1969 color:dem text:"Lyndon B. Johnson" from: 20/01/1961 till: 22/11/1963 color:dem text:"Kennedy" from: 20/01/1953 till: 20/01/1961 color:gop text:"Dwight D. Eisenhower" from: $start till: 20/01/1953 color:dem text:"Harry S. Truman"

Comparison

Notes

References

References

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