The permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (also known as the Permanent Five, Big Five, or P5) are the five sovereign states to whom the UN Charter of 1945 grants a permanent seat on the

UN Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

, and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. The permanent members were all allies in World War II (and the victors of that war), and are all states with nuclear weapons. All have the power of veto which enables any one of them to prevent the adoption of any "substantive" draft Council resolution, regardless of its level of international support. The remaining 10 members of the UN Security Council are elected by the General Assembly, giving a total of 15

UN member states The United Nations member states are the sovereign states that are members of the United Nations (UN) and have equal representation in the UN General Assembly. The UN is the world's largest intergovernmental organization. The criter ...

Permanent members

The following is a table of the current permanent members of the U.N. Security Council.

History

At the UN's founding in 1945, the five permanent members of the Security Council were the

French Republic France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeas ...

, the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

, 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

United Nations Charter The Charter of the United Nations (UN) is the foundational treaty of the UN, an intergovernmental organization. It establishes the purposes, governing structure, and overall framework of the United Nations System, UN system, including its Organ ...

, as it has not been accordingly amended: * China's seat was originally held by the Nationalist government of the

(ROC). However, it lost the

Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on main ...

and retreated to the island of

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...

in 1949. The

Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Ci ...

won control of

mainland China "Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the China, People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming Island, Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territorie ...

and established the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

(PRC). In 1971,

UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 The United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758 (also known as the Resolution on Admitting Peking) was passed in response to the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 1668 that required any change in China's representation in the UN b ...

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 14 states continue to officially recognise the ROC as the sole legitimate government of China. * After the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...

in 1991,

was recognised as the legal successor state of the

and maintained the latter's position on the Security Council. Additionally, France reformed its provisional government into the French Fourth Republic in 1946 and later into the French Fifth Republic in 1958, both under the leadership of

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Governm ...

. France maintained its seat as there was no change in its international status or recognition, although many of its overseas possessions eventually became independent. The five permanent members of the Security Council were the victorious powers in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

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 U.S. 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 The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, commonly known as the Non-Proliferation Treaty or NPT, is an international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation ...

(NPT), though there are other states known or believed to be in possession of nuclear weapons.

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 Abstention is a term in election procedure for when a participant in a vote either does not go to vote (on election day) or, in parliamentary procedure, is present during the vote, but does not cast a ballot. Abstention must be contrasted with ...

or absence from the vote by a permanent member does ''not'' prevent a draft resolution from being adopted.

Expansion

There have been proposals suggesting the introduction of new permanent members. The candidates usually mentioned are

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

, and

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

. 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 traditionally been opposed by the

Uniting for Consensus Uniting for Consensus (UfC), nicknamed the Coffee Club, is a movement that developed in the 1990s in opposition to the possible expansion of permanent seats in the United Nations Security Council. Under the leadership of Italy, it aims to counte ...

group, which is composed primarily of nations that are regional rivals and economic competitors of the G4. The group is composed of

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

(opposing

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the ...

, and

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...

(opposing

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

and

(opposing

), and

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

(opposing

), in addition to

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...

and others. Since 1992,

and other council members have instead proposed semi-permanent seats or expanding the number of temporary seats. 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 Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) is an international institute based in Stockholm. It was founded in 1966 and provides data, analysis and recommendations for armed conflict, military expenditure and arms trade as well ...

(SIPRI).

Leaders of the permanent members

The following are the heads of state or

heads of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a ...

that represent the permanent members of the UN Security Council : File:Xi Jinping 2019.jpg,

Xi Jinping Xi Jinping ( ; ; ; born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and thus as the paramount leader of China, ...

Paramount leader Paramount leader () is an informal term for the most important political figure in the People's Republic of China (PRC). The paramount leader typically controls the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Liberation Army (PLA), often hol ...

of the
People's Republic of China
since File:Emmanuel Macron (cropped).jpg,

Emmanuel Macron Emmanuel Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France since 2017. ''Ex officio'', he is also one of the two Co-Princes of Andorra. Prior to his presidency, Macron served as Minister of Econ ...

President of the
French Republic
since File:Vladimir Putin 17-11-2021 (cropped).jpg,

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

President of the
Russian Federation
since File:Chancellor Rishi Sunak (cropped).jpg,

Rishi Sunak Rishi Sunak (; born 12 May 1980) is a British politician who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party since October 2022. He previously held two cabinet positions under Boris Johnson, lastly as ...

Prime Minister of the
United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
since File:Joe Biden presidential portrait (cropped).jpg, Joe Biden
President of the
United States of America
since

Historical leaders

ImageSize = width:1600 height:auto barincrement:40 PlotArea = left:80 right:20 bottom:80 top:5 DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Define $start = 24/10/1945 Define $end = 31/01/2023 Period = from:$start till:$end TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:5 start:01/01/1995 ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:24/10/1945 Legend = orientation:horizontal position:bottom Colors = id:ccp value:coral legend:Communist_Party_of_China id:kmt value:blue legend:Kuomintang id:gaullist value:skyblue legend:Gaullist_(UNR/UDR) id:center-right value:rgb(0,0.8,0.8) legend:Centre-Right_(CNIP/CD/RI/PR) id:ps value:rgb(0.93,0.09,0.32) legend:Socialists_(SFIO/PS) id:neo-gaullist value:rgb(0,0.4,0.8) legend:Neo-Gaullist_(RPR/UMP/LR) id:lrem value:rgb(1,0.84,0) legend:La_République_En_Marche! id:cpsu value:red legend:Communist_Party_of_the_Soviet_Union id:uru value:blue legend:United_Russia id:con value:blue legend:Conservative_Party_(UK) id:lab value:rgb(0.79,0.0 ,0.21) legend:Labour_Party_(UK) id:dem value:skyblue legend:Democratic_Party_(United_States) id:gop value:pink legend:Republican_Party_(United_States) Legend = columns:3 left:200 top:60 columnwidth:480 BarData = bar:cn text:China bar:fr text:France bar:ru text:USSR/Russia bar:uk text:United Kingdom bar:us text:United States PlotData= align:center textcolor:black fontsize:8 mark:(line,black) width:25 bar:cn from: 15/11/2012 till: $end color:ccp text:"

" from: 15/11/2002 till: 15/11/2012 color:ccp text:"

Hu Jintao Hu Jintao (born 21 December 1942) is a Chinese politician who served as the 16–17th general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 2002 to 2012, the 6th president of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from 2003 to 2013, and ...

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

Jiang Zemin Jiang Zemin (17 August 1926 – 30 November 2022) was a Chinese politician who served as general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 1989 to 2002, as chairman of the Central Military Commission from 1989 to 2004, and as p ...

" from: 22/12/1978 till: 09/11/1989 color:ccp text:"

Deng Xiaoping Deng Xiaoping (22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997) was a Chinese revolutionary leader, military commander and statesman who served as the paramount leader of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC) from December 1978 to November 1989. Aft ...

" 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 Mao Zedong pronounced ; also Romanization of Chinese, romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the List of national founde ...

" from: 01/03/1950 till: 25/10/1971 color:kmt text:"

Chiang Kai-shek Chiang Kai-shek (31 October 1887 – 5 April 1975), also known as Chiang Chung-cheng and Jiang Jieshi, was a Chinese Nationalist politician, revolutionary, and military leader who served as the leader of the Republic of China (ROC) from 1928 ...

" from: 21/01/1949 till: 01/03/1950 color:kmt text:" Li Z." from: $start till: 21/01/1949 color:kmt text:" Chiang" bar:fr 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 Jacques René Chirac (, , ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. Chirac was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988, as well as May ...

" 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 Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Governm ...

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

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" from: 16/01/1947 till: 16/01/1954 color:ps text:" Auriol" from: $start till: 16/01/1947 color:tan1 text:"

" bar:ru 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:" Krushchev" from: 05/03/1953 till: 08/02/1955 color:cpsu text:" Malenkov" from: $start till: 05/03/1953 color:cpsu text:" Stalin" bar:uk from: 25/10/2022 till: $end color:con text:" Sunak" from: 06/09/2022 till: 24/10/2022 color:con text:"

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" from: 13/07/2016 till: 24/07/2019 color:con text:" May" from: 11/05/2010 till: 13/07/2016 color:con text:"

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

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

Blair Blair is an English-language name of Scottish Gaelic origin. The surname is derived from any of the numerous places in Scotland called ''Blair'', derived from the Scottish Gaelic ''blàr'', meaning "plain", "meadow" or "field", frequently a “ba ...

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

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" 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 Wilson may refer to: People *Wilson (name) ** List of people with given name Wilson ** List of people with surname Wilson * Wilson (footballer, 1927–1998), Brazilian manager and defender * Wilson (footballer, born 1984), full name Wilson R ...

" from: 19/06/1970 till: 04/03/1974 color:con text:" Heath" from: 16/10/1964 till: 19/06/1970 color:lab text:"

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

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

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" from: 05/04/1955 till: 09/01/1957 color:con text:" Eden" from: 26/10/1951 till: 05/04/1955 color:con text:"

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" from: $start till: 26/10/1951 color:lab text:"

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" 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:"

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" 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:"

" 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"

Permanent members

History

Veto power

Expansion

Leaders of the permanent members

Historical leaders

See also

Notes

References

Further reading