permanent members of the United Nations Security Council

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

File:1945 UNSC P5 + colonies.png

File:Vladimir Putin at the Millennium Summit 6-8 September 2000-23.jpg, US President Bill Clinton, UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and French President Jacques Chirac.]]

Based on the consensus concerning the Security Council's structure agreed upon at the 1944 Dumbarton Oaks Conference{{cite book |last1=Robert C. Hilderbrand |title=Dumbarton Oaks: The Origins of the United Nations and the Search for Postwar Security |date=2001 |publisher=UNC Press Books |isbn=9780807849507 |pages=122–123}} 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.{{cite book|last1=Froehlich|first1=Annette|last2=Seffinga|first2=Vincent|title=The United Nations and Space Security: Conflicting Mandates between UNCOPUOS and the CD|year=2019|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U42oDwAAQBAJ&q=roc+United+Nations+1971&pg=PA40|page=40|publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-030-06025-1}} Both the ROC and the PRC continue to claim de jure sovereignty over the entirety of China (including Taiwan).{{cite book|last1=Sarmento|first1=Clara|title=Eastwards / Westwards: Which Direction for Gender Studies in the 21st Century?|year=2009|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VvcYBwAAQBAJ&q=people%27s+republic+of+china+controls+mainland+china+hong+kong+macau&pg=PA127|page=127|publisher=Cambridge Scholars |isbn=978-1-4438-0868-2}}{{cite book|last1=Hudson|first1=Christopher|title=The China Handbook|year=2014|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hm63AwAAQBAJ&q=prc+and+roc+legitimacy&pg=PA59|page=59|publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-26966-2}}{{cite book|author1-link=Shelley Rigger|last1=Rigger|first1=Shelley|title=Politics in Taiwan: Voting for Reform|year=2002|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hiiEAgAAQBAJ&q=roc+limited+to+taiwan&pg=PA60|page=60|publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-69297-2}} However, only 13 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.{{cite journal |last=Blum |first=Yehuda Z. |author-link=Yehuda Zvi Blum |year=1992 |title=Russia Takes Over the Soviet Union's Seat at the United Nations |url=http://www.ejil.org/pdfs/3/2/2045.pdf |journal=European Journal of International Law |volume=3 |issue=2 |pages=354–362 |doi=10.1093/ejil/3.2.354 |access-date=2022-10-20}}{{cite web |last=MacLeod |first=Andrew |date=2022-02-24 |title=Ukraine invasion: Should Russia lose its seat on the UN Security Council? |url=https://theconversation.com/ukraine-invasion-should-russia-lose-its-seat-on-the-un-security-council-177870 |website=The Conversation}}{{cite web |last=MacLeod |first=Andrew |date=2022-02-25 |title=Ukraine invasion: Should Russia lose its seat on the UN Security Council? |url=https://www.kcl.ac.uk/ukraine-invasion-should-russia-lose-its-seat-on-the-un-security-council |website=King's College London}}{{cite web | url=https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2022/0303/1284242-russia-ussr-un-security-council-permanent-seat/ | title=How did Russia get USSR's permanent seat on UN Security Council? | date=7 March 2022 | last1=Menon | first1=Kiran Mohandas | website=RTÉ.ie }}

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.{{efn|At the time, both the law of France and the United Nations list of non-self-governing territories recognized French Algeria as a part of France, instead of a colony of France.}} 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.

{{Main|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.

{{Main|Reform of the United Nations Security Council}}

File:G4 Nations.svg: Brazil, Germany, India, and Japan]]

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.{{cite web|last=Sharma |first=Rajeev |url = http://www.firstpost.com/world/india-pushes-the-envelope-at-g4-summit-pm-modi-tells-unsc-to-make-space-for-largest-democracies-2446526.html|title = India pushes the envelope at G4 Summit: PM Modi tells UNSC to make space for largest democracies |date = 27 September 2015 |access-date = 20 October 2015 |work=First Post}}

This sort of reform has historically been opposed by the Uniting for Consensus (Coffee Club) group,{{CN|date=March 2025}} 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 {{cite web | url=https://www.dw.com/en/italy-accuses-g4-of-foul-play/a-1660662 | title=Italy Accuses G4 of Foul Play – DW – 07/27/2005 | website=Deutsche Welle }}

Since 1992, Italy and other council members have instead proposed semi-permanent seats or expanding the number of temporary seats.{{cite web | url=https://www.dw.com/en/italy-accuses-g4-of-foul-play/a-1660662 | title=Italy Accuses G4 of Foul Play | DW | 27 July 2005 | website=Deutsche Welle }} 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.{{Cite web|first1=Lynsey|last1=Chutel|first2=Farnaz|last2=Fassihi|title=United States Backs Africa's U.N. Security Council Bid, With a Catch|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/12/world/africa/us-un-security-council-africa-permanent-seats.html|access-date=2024-09-15|website=The New York Times|date=12 September 2024 |language=en}}

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).

The following are the heads of state or heads of government that represent the permanent members of the UN Security Council {{as of|lc=y|2024}}:

File:Xi Jinping in July 2024.jpg|Xi Jinping
Paramount leader of the
People's Republic of China
since {{no wrap|15 November 2012}}{{efn|General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party since 15 November 2012 and President of China since 14 March 2013}}

File:Emmanuel Macron (cropped).jpg|Emmanuel Macron
President of the
French Republic
since {{no wrap|14 May 2017}}

File:Владимир Путин (18-06-2023) (cropped).jpg|Vladimir Putin
President of the
Russian Federation
since {{no wrap|7 May 2012}}{{efn|Previously President of Russia in 2000–08}}

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 {{no wrap|5 July 2024}}

File:TrumpPortrait.jpg|Donald Trump
President of the
United States of America
since {{no wrap|20 January 2025}}

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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: 09/11/1989 till: 15/11/2002 color:ccp text:"Jiang Zemin"

from: 22/12/1978 till: 09/11/1989 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: 21/01/1949 till: 01/03/1950 color:kmt text:"Li Z."

from: $start till: 21/01/1949 color:kmt text:"Chiang"

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from: 14/05/2017 till: $end color:lrem text:"Macron"

from: 15/05/2012 till: 14/05/2017 color:ps text:"Hollande"

from: 16/05/2007 till: 15/05/2012 color:neo-gaullist text:"Sarkozy"

from: 17/05/1995 till: 16/05/2007 color:neo-gaullist text:"Chirac"

from: 21/05/1981 till: 17/05/1995 color:ps text:"Mitterrand"

from: 27/05/1974 till: 21/05/1981 color:center-right text:"d'Estaing"

from: 28/04/1969 till: 27/05/1974 color:gaullist text:"Pompidou"

from: 08/01/1959 till: 28/04/1969 color:gaullist text:"de Gaulle"

from: 16/01/1954 till: 08/01/1959 color:center-right text:"Coty"

from: 16/01/1947 till: 16/01/1954 color:ps text:"Auriol"

from: $start till: 16/01/1947 color:tan1 text:"de Gaulle"

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from: 07/05/2012 till: $end color:uru text:Putin

from: 07/05/2008 till: 07/05/2012 color:uru text:Medvedev

from: 31/12/1999 till: 07/05/2012 color:uru text:Putin

from: 26/12/1991 till: 31/12/1999 color:tan1 text:Yeltsin

from: 10/03/1985 till: 26/12/1991 color:cpsu text:"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:"Brezhnev"

from: 08/02/1955 till: 14/10/1964 color:cpsu text:"Khrushchev"

from: 05/03/1953 till: 08/02/1955 color:cpsu text:"Malenkov"

from: $start till: 05/03/1953 color:cpsu text:"Stalin"

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from: 05/07/2024 till: $end color:lab text:"Starmer" shift:(0,-10)

from: 25/10/2022 till: 04/07/2024 color:con text:"Sunak"

from: 06/09/2022 till: 24/10/2022 color:con text:"Truss" shift:(0,-10)

from: 24/07/2019 till: 05/09/2022 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:"Cameron"

from: 27/06/2007 till: 11/05/2010 color:lab text:"Brown"

from: 02/05/1997 till: 27/06/2007 color:lab text:"Blair"

from: 28/11/1990 till: 02/05/1997 color:con text:"Major"

from: 04/05/1979 till: 28/11/1990 color:con text:"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:"Wilson"

from: 17/10/1963 till: 16/10/1964 color:con text:"Home"

from: 09/01/1957 till: 17/10/1963 color:con text:"Macmillan"

from: 05/04/1955 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:"Attlee"

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from: 20/01/2025 till: $end color:gop text:"Trump"

from: 20/01/2021 till: 20/01/2025 color:dem text:"Biden"

from: 20/01/2017 till: 20/01/2021 color:gop text:"Trump"

from: 20/01/2009 till: 20/01/2017 color:dem text:"Obama"

from: 20/01/2001 till: 20/01/2009 color:gop text:"G.W.Bush"

from: 20/01/1993 till: 20/01/2001 color:dem text:"Clinton"

from: 20/01/1989 till: 20/01/1993 color:gop text:"Bush"

from: 20/01/1981 till: 20/01/1989 color:gop text:"Reagan"

from: 20/01/1977 till: 20/01/1981 color:dem text:"Carter"

from: 09/08/1974 till: 20/01/1977 color:gop text:"Ford"

from: 20/01/1969 till: 09/08/1974 color:gop text:"Nixon"

from: 22/11/1963 till: 20/01/1969 color:dem text:"Johnson"

from: 20/01/1961 till: 22/11/1963 color:dem text:"Kennedy"

from: 20/01/1953 till: 20/01/1961 color:gop text:"Eisenhower"

from: $start till: 20/01/1953 color:dem text:"Truman"

• List of country groupings
• Coffee Club
• Paris Club
• London Club

{{notelist}}

{{reflist}}

• Nico J. Schrijver and Niels M. Blokker (eds.). 2020. [https://brill.com/view/title/57063 Elected Members of the Security Council: Lame Ducks or Key Players?] Brill.com.{{full citation needed|date=February 2020}}
• {{cite web|author = GPF Staff | url=http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/reform/cluster1/2005/04italianmodel.pdf |title=Security Council Expansion—A Regional Model |work = GlobalPolicy.org |date=April 2005 |publisher=Global Policy Forum |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090519045239/http://www.globalpolicy.org//security//reform/cluster1/2005/04italianmodel.pdf |archive-date=19 May 2009 }} This is referred to by some{{who|date=February 2020}} as the "Italian Model".{{citation needed|date=February 2020}}

{{UN Security Council| state=expanded}}

{{United Nations}}

{{UN Charter}}

Category:United Nations Security Council

Category:International security

Category:China and the United Nations

Category:France and the United Nations

Category:Russia and the United Nations

Category:United Kingdom and the United Nations

Category:United States and the United Nations