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List of members of the United Nations Security Council

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Membership of the United Nations Security Council is held by the five permanent members and ten elected, non-permanent members.

Being elected requires a two-thirds majority vote from the United Nations General Assembly. Elected members hold their place on the council for a two-year term, with five seats contested in even years and five seats contested in odd years. An outgoing member cannot be immediately re-elected.

Elections usually begin in October for a term starting January 1. Because of the two-thirds majority requirement, it is possible for two evenly matched candidates to deadlock with approximately half the vote each, sometimes needing weeks of negotiations to resolve.

Non-permanent seats are distributed geographically, with a certain number of seats allocated to each of the five United Nations Regional Groups.

Current membership[edit]

Permanent members
Country Regional Group Member since
 China Asia-Pacific Group 1971, replaced the Republic of China
 France Western European and Others Group 1945
 Russia Eastern European Group 1991, replaced the Soviet Union
 United Kingdom Western European and Others Group 1945
 United States Western European and Others Group 1945
Non-permanent members
Country Regional Group Term began Term ends
 Algeria African Group (Arab) 2024 2025
 Ecuador Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC) 2023 2024
 Guyana Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC) 2024 2025
 Japan Asia-Pacific Group 2023 2024
 South Korea Asia-Pacific Group 2024 2025
 Malta Western European and Others Group (WEOG) 2023 2024
 Mozambique African Group 2023 2024
 Sierra Leone African Group 2024 2025
 Slovenia Eastern European Group (EEG) 2024 2025
  Switzerland Western European and Others Group (WEOG) 2023 2024

Regional Groups[edit]

  African Group
  Asia-Pacific Group
  Eastern European Group
  Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC)
  Western European and Others Group
  UN member not in any voting group
  Observer states
  Non-UN state or territory

The ten non-permanent seats have the following distribution:

In addition, one of the five African/Asian seats is an Arab country, alternating between the two groups. This rule was added in 1967 for it to be applied beginning with 1968.

Electoral timetable
Term beginning in years that are: Odd Even
African Group one member two members *
Asia-Pacific Group one member one member *
Eastern European Group none one member
Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC) one member one member
Western European and Others Group two members none

* The representative of Arab nations alternates between these two spaces.

The odd/even distribution was effectively decided by the January 1946 and December 1965 elections (the first ever election, and the first election after the expansion of seats). For each of the six and four members in the newly created seats, the UN General Assembly voted to grant either a 1-year or 2-year term.

Previous Security Council composition[edit]

From 1946 to 1965, the Security Council had six non-permanent members. Due to a lack of African and Asian member states, the seats had the following distribution:

  • Latin America: 2 members
  • Commonwealth of Nations: 1 member
  • Eastern Europe: 1 member
  • Middle East: 1 member
  • Western Europe: 1 member

As decolonization increased the number of Asian and African member states without a group, they began to contest other seats: Ivory Coast substituted a member of the Commonwealth in 1964-1965, the Eastern European seat regularly included Asian countries from 1956, Liberia took the place of a Western European country in 1961, and Mali successfully contested the Middle Eastern seat in December 1964 (the Security Council would be expanded before Mali's term began).

An amendment to the UN Charter ratified in 1965 increased the number of non-permanent seats to 10, and the Regional Groups were formalized. The amendment effectively created three African seats and one Asian seat (if treating the Commonwealth seat as a WEOG seat and the Middle Eastern seat as an Asian seat[a]).

Membership by year[edit]

Permanent[edit]

Year Chinese seat French seat Soviet/Russian seat British seat American seat
1945 Republic of China Prov. Gov. of France  Soviet Union  United Kingdom  United States
1946 French Fourth Republic
1949 Republic of China (Taiwan)
1958 French Fifth Republic
1971  People's Republic of China
1991–present Russian Federation

Non-permanent (1946–1965)[edit]

Year Latin American Seats Commonwealth Seat Eastern European
& Asian Seat[b]
Middle Eastern Seat Western European Seat
1946  Brazil  Mexico  Australia Poland Poland  Egypt  Netherlands
1947  Colombia  Syria  Belgium
1948  Argentina  Canada  Ukrainian SSR
1949 Cuba Cuba  Egypt  Norway
1950  Ecuador  India  Yugoslavia
1951  Brazil  Turkey  Netherlands
1952  Chile  Pakistan  Greece
1953  Colombia  Lebanon  Denmark
1954  Brazil  New Zealand  Turkey
1955  Peru Iran Iran  Belgium
1956 Cuba Cuba  Australia  Yugoslavia
1957  Colombia  Philippines  Iraq  Sweden
1958  Panama  Canada  Japan
1959  Argentina  Tunisia[c]  Italy
1960  Ecuador  Ceylon  Poland
1961  Chile  Turkey  United Arab Republic  Liberia[d]
1962  Venezuela  Ghana  Romania  Ireland
1963  Brazil  Philippines  Morocco[c]  Norway
1964  Bolivia  Ivory Coast[e]  Czechoslovakia
1965  Uruguay  Malaysia  Jordan  Netherlands

Non-permanent (1966–present)[edit]

The African Union uses an internal rotation system to distribute seats based on its subregions:[3][4]

  • 1 odd-year seat alternates between Eastern Africa and Southern Africa (only Eastern Africa prior to the creation of the Southern Africa subregion in 1979)
  • 1 even-year seat is allocated to Western Africa
  • 1 even-year seat alternates between Northern Africa (the Arab nation seat) and Central Africa (with one exception at the beginning in 1966)

Arab nations in Eastern Africa, such as Somalia and Djibouti, may sit in the Eastern African seat without affecting any rotations. Thus there may be two Arab nations at once on the Security Council.

Aside from the Asia-Pacific Group also allocating an Arab nation seat every four years (in even years not divisible by 4), other regional groups do not have their own subregional rotation systems.[2][5] The Arab nation seat is starred below.

The Western European and Others Group in part contains three caucusing subgroups (Benelux, the Nordic countries, and CANZ[f]), whose candidates informally coordinate with each other.[6][5] While this has not resulted in a stable rotation system, it effectively guarantees that both seats will never be occupied by a single subgroup at the same time.[1]

Year African Group Asia-Pacific Group Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC) Western European and Others Group Eastern European Group
Eastern/Southern Western Northern/Central
1966  Uganda  Mali  Nigeria[g]  Japan  Jordan*  Argentina  Uruguay  Netherlands  New Zealand  Bulgaria
1967  Ethiopia  India  Brazil  Canada  Denmark
1968  Senegal  Algeria*  Pakistan  Paraguay  Hungary
1969  Zambia    Nepal  Colombia  Finland  Spain
1970  Sierra Leone  Burundi  Syria*  Nicaragua  Poland
1971  Somalia  Japan  Argentina  Belgium  Italy
1972  Guinea  Sudan*  India  Panama  Yugoslavia
1973  Kenya  Indonesia  Peru  Australia  Austria
1974  Mauritania  Cameroon  Iraq*  Costa Rica  Byelorussian SSR
1975  Tanzania  Japan  Guyana  Italy  Sweden
1976  Benin  Libya*  Pakistan  Panama  Romania
1977  Mauritius  India  Venezuela  Canada  West Germany
1978  Nigeria  Gabon  Kuwait*  Bolivia  Czechoslovakia
1979  Zambia  Bangladesh  Jamaica  Norway  Portugal
1980  Niger  Tunisia*  Philippines  Mexico  East Germany
1981  Uganda  Japan  Panama  Ireland  Spain
1982  Togo  Zaire  Jordan*  Guyana  Poland
1983  Zimbabwe  Pakistan  Nicaragua  Malta  Netherlands
1984  Burkina Faso[h]  Egypt*  India  Peru  Ukraine
1985  Madagascar  Thailand  Trinidad and Tobago  Australia  Denmark
1986  Ghana  Congo  United Arab Emirates*  Venezuela  Bulgaria
1987  Zambia  Japan  Argentina  West Germany  Italy
1988  Senegal  Algeria*    Nepal  Brazil  Yugoslavia
1989  Ethiopia  Malaysia  Colombia  Canada  Finland
1990  Ivory Coast  Zaire  Yemen*[i]  Cuba  Romania
1991  Zimbabwe  India  Ecuador  Austria  Belgium
1992  Cape Verde  Morocco*  Japan  Venezuela  Hungary
1993  Djibouti  Pakistan  Brazil  New Zealand  Spain
1994  Nigeria  Rwanda  Oman*  Argentina  Czech Republic
1995  Botswana  Indonesia  Honduras  Germany  Italy
1996  Guinea-Bissau  Egypt*  South Korea  Chile  Poland
1997  Kenya  Japan  Costa Rica  Portugal  Sweden
1998  Gambia  Gabon  Bahrain*  Brazil  Slovenia
1999  Namibia  Malaysia  Argentina  Canada  Netherlands
2000  Mali  Tunisia*  Bangladesh  Jamaica  Ukraine
2001  Mauritius  Singapore  Colombia  Ireland  Norway
2002  Guinea  Cameroon  Syria*  Mexico  Bulgaria
2003  Angola  Pakistan  Chile  Germany  Spain
2004  Benin  Algeria*  Philippines  Brazil  Romania
2005  Tanzania  Japan  Argentina  Denmark  Greece
2006  Ghana  Congo  Qatar*  Peru  Slovakia
2007  South Africa  Indonesia  Panama  Belgium  Italy
2008  Burkina Faso  Libya*  Vietnam  Costa Rica  Croatia
2009  Uganda  Japan  Mexico  Austria  Turkey
2010  Nigeria  Gabon  Lebanon*  Brazil  Bosnia and Herzegovina
2011  South Africa  India  Colombia  Germany  Portugal
2012  Togo  Morocco*  Pakistan  Guatemala  Azerbaijan
2013  Rwanda  South Korea  Argentina  Australia  Luxembourg
2014  Nigeria  Chad  Jordan*  Chile  Lithuania
2015  Angola  Malaysia  Venezuela  New Zealand  Spain
2016  Senegal  Egypt*  Japan  Uruguay  Ukraine
2017  Ethiopia  Kazakhstan  Bolivia  Italy  Sweden
2018  Ivory Coast  Equatorial Guinea  Kuwait*  Peru  Netherlands[7]  Poland
2019  South Africa  Indonesia  Dominican Republic  Belgium  Germany
2020  Niger  Tunisia*  Vietnam  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines  Estonia
2021  Kenya  India  Mexico  Ireland  Norway
2022  Ghana  Gabon  United Arab Emirates*  Brazil  Albania
2023  Mozambique  Japan  Ecuador  Malta   Switzerland
2024  Sierra Leone  Algeria*  South Korea  Guyana  Slovenia
2025  Somalia  Pakistan  Panama  Denmark  Greece

List by number of years as Security Council member[edit]

This list contains the 138 United Nations member states so far elected to the United Nations Security Council, including the five permanent members, all listed by number of years each country has so far spent on the UNSC. Of all the members, 6 have so far ceased to exist, leaving the list with 132 modern nations. These, combined with the 61 modern nations that have never been elected to the UNSC to date (see Non-members, below), make up the 193 current members of the UN.

Years on the Security Council, as of 2024, including current year where relevant :

  Indicates permanent member
  Indicates current elected member (2024)
  Indicates former United Nations member
Years[j] Country First Year Most Recent Year Regional Group Notes
79  France 1945 2024 WEOG Permanent member
79  United Kingdom 1945 2024 WEOG Permanent member
79  United States 1945 2024 WEOG Permanent member
53  People's Republic of China 1971 2024 Asia-Pacific Permanent member
46  Soviet Union 1945 1991 E. European Former permanent member, replaced by Russian Federation
33  Russian Federation 1991 2024 E. European Permanent member
26  Republic of China 1945 1971 Asian Former permanent member, replaced by People's Republic of China
24  Japan 1958 2024 Asia-Pacific
22  Brazil 1946 2023 GRULAC
18  Argentina 1948 2014 GRULAC
16  India 1950 2022 Asia-Pacific
14  Colombia 1947 2012 GRULAC
14  Pakistan 1952 2013 Asia-Pacific Elected to serve a two-term from 2025-2026
13  Italy 1959 2017 WEOG
12  Belgium 1947 2020 WEOG
12  Canada 1948 2000 WEOG
12  Germany 1977 2020 WEOG Includes 4 years when the Federal Republic of Germany consisted only of West Germany (but does not include East Germany's 2 years, listed separately below).
11  Poland 1946 2019 E. European
10  Australia 1946 2014 WEOG
10  Chile 1952 2015 GRULAC
10  Netherlands 1946 2018 WEOG
10  Nigeria 1966 2015 African
10  Norway 1949 2022 WEOG
10  Panama 1958 2008 GRULAC Elected to serve a two-term from 2025-2026
10  Peru 1955 2019 GRULAC
10  Spain 1969 2016 WEOG
10  Venezuela 1962 2016 GRULAC
9  Egypt 1946 2017 African (Arab) Excludes 2 years with the seat held in the name of the United Arab Republic, of which for more than 15 months UAR served as the name of modern-day Egypt
9  Mexico 1946 2022 GRULAC
8  Denmark 1953 2006 WEOG Elected to serve a two-term from 2025-2026
8  Ecuador 1950 2024 GRULAC
8  Gabon 1978 2023 African
8  Ghana 1962 2023 African
8  Indonesia 1973 2020 Asia-Pacific
8  Sweden 1957 2018 WEOG
8  Ukraine 1948 2017 E. European Includes 4 years of membership under the name of  Ukrainian SSR; Ukrainian SSR held its own seat in the General Assembly while being part of the Soviet Union during its 46 years of Security Council membership
8  Tunisia 1959 2021 African
7  Algeria 1968 2024 African (Arab)
7  Ireland 1962 2022 WEOG
7  Malaysia 1965 2016 Asia-Pacific
7  New Zealand 1954 2016 WEOG
7  Romania 1962 2005 E. European
7  Turkey 1951 2010 WEOG
7  Yugoslavia 1950 1989 E. European Predecessor of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Slovenia
6  Austria 1973 2010 WEOG
6  Bolivia 1964 2018 GRULAC
6  Bulgaria 1966 2003 E. European
6  Costa Rica 1974 2009 GRULAC
6  Cuba 1949 1991 GRULAC
6  Ethiopia 1967 2018 African
6  Ivory Coast 1964 2019 African
6  Jordan 1965 2015 Asia-Pacific (Arab)
6  Kenya 1973 2022 African
6  Morocco 1963 2013 African (Arab)
6  Philippines 1957 2005 Asia-Pacific
6  Portugal 1979 2012 WEOG
6  Senegal 1968 2017 African
6  South Africa 2007 2020 African
6  Syria 1947 2003 Asia-Pacific (Arab) Excludes one year (1961) during which the United Arab Republic was a member, for the greater part of which Syria was a member of that union
6  Zambia 1969 1988 African
5  Guyana 1975 2024 GRULAC
5  South Korea 1996 2024 Asia-Pacific
5  Uganda 1966 2010 African
4  Angola 2003 2016 African
4  Bangladesh 1979 2001 Asia-Pacific
4  Benin 1976 2005 African
4  Burkina Faso 1984 2009 African For first 7 months of membership of the Security council in 1984 was known as Upper Volta.
4  Cameroon 1974 2003 African
4  Finland 1969 1990 WEOG
4  Greece 1952 2006 WEOG Elected to serve a two-term from 2025-2026
4  Guinea 1972 2003 African
4  Hungary 1968 1993 E. European
4  Iraq 1957 1975 Asia-Pacific (Arab)
4  Jamaica 1979 2001 GRULAC
4  Kuwait 1978 2019 Asia-Pacific (Arab)
4  Lebanon 1953 2011 Asia-Pacific (Arab)
4 Libya Libya 1976 2009 African (Arab)
4  Mali 1966 2001 African
4  Malta 1983 2024 WEOG
4  Mauritius 1977 2002 African
4    Nepal 1969 1989 Asia-Pacific
4  Nicaragua 1970 1984 GRULAC
4  Niger 1980 2021 African
4  Republic of the Congo 1986 2007 African
4  Rwanda 1994 2014 African
4  Tanzania 1975 2006 African
4  Togo 1982 2013 African
4  United Arab Emirates 1986 2023 Asia-Pacific (Arab)
4  Uruguay 1965 2017 GRULAC
4  Vietnam 2008 2021 Asia-Pacific
4  Zaire 1982 1991 African Now known as Democratic Republic of the Congo
4  Zimbabwe 1983 1992 African
3  Czechoslovakia 1964 1979 E. European Predecessor of Czech Republic and Slovakia
3  Sierra Leone 1970 2024 African
3  Slovenia 1998 2024 E. European Was also part of the SFR Yugoslavia during its 7 years of Security Council membership
2  Albania 2022 2023 E. European
2  Azerbaijan 2012 2013 E. European Was part of the Soviet Union during its 45 years of Security Council membership
2  Bahrain 1998 1999 Asia-Pacific (Arab)
2  Bosnia and Herzegovina 2010 2011 E. European Was also part of the SFR Yugoslavia during its 7 years of Security Council membership
2  Botswana 1995 1996 African
2  Burundi 1970 1971 African
2  Byelorussian SSR 1974 1975 E. European Now known as Belarus; Byelorussian SSR held its own seat in the General Assembly while being part of the Soviet Union during its 45 years of Security Council membership
2  Cape Verde 1992 1993 African
2  Ceylon 1960 1961 Asia-Pacific Now known as Sri Lanka
2  Chad 2014 2015 African
2  Croatia 2008 2009 E. European Was also part of the SFR Yugoslavia during its 7 years of Security Council membership
2  Czech Republic 1994 1995 E. European Was also part of Czechoslovakia during its 3 years of Security Council membership
2  Djibouti 1993 1994 African
2  Dominican Republic 2019 2020 GRULAC
2  East Germany 1980 1981 E. European Now subsumed into Germany, which has 8 years of Security Council membership since it has included the former territory of East Germany
2  Estonia 2020 2021 E. European Part of the Soviet Union from 1944 to 20 August 1991
2  Equatorial Guinea 2018 2019 African
2  Gambia 1998 1999 African
2  Guatemala 2012 2013 GRULAC
2  Guinea-Bissau 1996 1997 African
2  Honduras 1995 1996 GRULAC
2  Iran 1955 1956 Asia-Pacific
2  Kazakhstan 2017 2018 Asia-Pacific Was part of the Soviet Union from 26 April 1920 to 25 December 1991
2  Lithuania 2014 2015 E. European Part of the Soviet Union from 3 August 1940 to 11 March 1990
2  Luxembourg 2013 2014 WEOG
2  Madagascar 1985 1986 African
2  Mauritania 1974 1975 African
2  Mozambique 2023 2024 African
2  Namibia 1999 2000 African
2  Oman 1994 1995 Asia-Pacific (Arab)
2  Paraguay 1968 1969 GRULAC
2  Qatar 2006 2007 Asia-Pacific (Arab)
2  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 2020 2021 GRULAC Smallest nation to have held a place on the Security Council.[8]
2  Singapore 2001 2002 Asia-Pacific Was also part of Malaysia for several months of 1965 during its membership of the Security Council
2  Slovakia 2006 2007 E. European Was also part of Czechoslovakia during its 3 years of Security Council membership
2  Somalia 1971 1972 African Elected to serve a two-term from 2025-2026
2  Sudan 1972 1973 African (Arab)
2   Switzerland 2023 2024 WEOG
2  Thailand 1985 1986 Asia-Pacific
2  Trinidad and Tobago 1985 1986 GRULAC
2  United Arab Republic 1961 1962 Middle East Union of Syria and Egypt
1  Yemen 1990 1991 Asia-Pacific (Arab) Inherited the seat from South Yemen; served the remaining of the term, for one year and seven months.
1  South Yemen 1990 1990 Asian (Arab) Held the Security Council seat for the first five months of membership, then unified with North Yemen and passed the seat to Yemen.
1  Liberia 1961 1961 African Served only one year.[k]

Future membership[edit]

The following countries have made known their applications for future United Nations Security Council membership:

Year Africa Asia-Pacific Eastern Europe Latin America & Caribbean Western Europe & Others
2026–27 Liberia[10] Bahrain[11] Latvia,[12] Montenegro[13] ?
2027–28 ? Philippines[14] Kyrgyzstan[15] ? Portugal,[16] Austria[17]
2028–29 ? India[18] Tajikistan[19] ? ?
2029–30 ? Iran, Uzbekistan[20] ? Australia,[21] Finland[17]
2030–31 ? ? Croatia[22] ?
2031–32 ? ? Guatemala[23] ?
2032–33 ? ? Armenia[24] ?
2037–38 ? ? ? Belgium[25]

Non-members[edit]

The United Nations Charter requires that elections to the Security Council take into account "the contribution of Members...to the maintenance of international peace and security". As a result, many nations, small or otherwise, have never been on the Security Council. The following list is a summary of all countries, currently 61 modern nations[26] and three historical ones, that have never been a member of the United Nations Security Council. The three historical UN members listed are Tanganyika, Zanzibar, and the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro.

Member states of the United Nations that have never been members of the United Nations Security Council as of January 2023.
  Indicates former United Nations member
UN Member state Regional Group Security Council membership as part of another entity
 Afghanistan Asia-Pacific
 Andorra WEOG
 Antigua and Barbuda GRULAC Was a colony of the United Kingdom from 1632 to 1 November 1981
 Armenia E. European Was part of the Soviet Union from 29 November 1920 to 25 December 1991
 Bahamas GRULAC Was a colony of the United Kingdom from 1717 to 10 July 1973
 Barbados GRULAC Was a colony of the United Kingdom from 1625 to 30 November 1966
 Belize GRULAC Was a colony of the United Kingdom from 1862 to 21 September 1981
 Bhutan Asia-Pacific
 Brunei Asia-Pacific Was a protectorate of the United Kingdom from 1888 to 1984
 Cambodia Asia-Pacific Was a colony of France from 1863 to 9 November 1953
 Central African Republic African Was a colony of France from 1894 to 13 August 1960
 Comoros African Was a colony of France from 1841 to 6 July 1975
 Cyprus Asia-Pacific Was a colony of the United Kingdom from 5 November 1914 to 16 August 1960
 Dominica GRULAC Was a colony of the United Kingdom from 1783 to 3 November 1978
 El Salvador GRULAC
 Eritrea African Was under the administration of the United Kingdom from 1941 to 1947, then a United Nations Trust Territory from 1947 to 1952, then part of Ethiopia from 1952 to 24 May 1993
 Eswatini African Was a colony of the United Kingdom from 1902 to 6 September 1968
 Fiji Asia-Pacific Was a colony of the United Kingdom from 1874 to 10 October 1970
 Georgia E. European Was part of the Soviet Union from 25 February 1921 to 25 December 1991
 Grenada GRULAC Was a colony of the United Kingdom from 1763 to 7 February 1974
 Haiti GRULAC
 Iceland WEOG
 Israel None / WEOG[l] Part of a League of Nations mandate under United Kingdom administration from 25 April 1920 to 14 May 1948
 Kiribati Asian / None[m] Was a colony of the United Kingdom from 1892 to 12 July 1979
 North Korea Asia-Pacific
 Kyrgyzstan Asia-Pacific Was part of the Soviet Union from 1 February 1926 to 25 December 1991
 Laos Asia-Pacific Was a colony of France from 1893 to 19 July 1949
 Latvia E. European Part of the Soviet Union from September 1944 to 21 August 1991
 Lesotho African Was a colony of the United Kingdom from 1884 to 4 October 1966
 Liechtenstein WEOG
 Malawi African Was a colony of the United Kingdom from 1891 to 6 July 1964
 Maldives Asia-Pacific Was a colony of the United Kingdom from 1887 to 26 July 1965
 Marshall Islands Asia-Pacific Was part of the United Nations Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands under the administration of the United States from 17 July 1947 to 21 October 1986
 Federated States of Micronesia Asia-Pacific Was part of the United Nations Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands under the administration of the United States from 17 July 1947 to 3 November 1986
 Moldova E. European Was part of the Soviet Union from 28 June 1940 to 25 December 1991
 Monaco WEOG
 Mongolia Asia-Pacific
 Montenegro E. European Was part of Yugoslavia from 29 November 1943 to 28 April 1992[n]
 Myanmar Asia-Pacific Was a colony of the United Kingdom from 1824 to 4 January 1948
 Nauru Asia-Pacific Was a United Nations Trust Territory administered by the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand from 1 January 1946 to 31 January 1968
 North Macedonia E. European Was part of Yugoslavia from 29 November 1943 to 3 April 1993
 Palau Asia-Pacific Was part of the United Nations Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands under the administration of the United States from 17 July 1947 to 1 October 1994
 Papua New Guinea Asia-Pacific Was administered by Australia in the case of the Territory of Papua from 1905, the Territory of New Guinea as a League of Nations mandate from 1919 and as a unified Territory of Papua and New Guinea from 1949 until 16 September 1975
 Saint Kitts and Nevis GRULAC Was a colony of the United Kingdom from 1713 to 19 September 1983
 Saint Lucia GRULAC Was a colony of the United Kingdom from 1803 to 22 February 1979
 Samoa Asia-Pacific Was a League of Nations mandate under the administration of New Zealand from 17 December 1920 to 25 January 1947, then a United Nations Trust Territory under the administration of New Zealand from 25 January 1947 to 1 January 1962
 San Marino WEOG
 São Tomé and Príncipe African Was a colony of Portugal until 12 July 1975
 Saudi Arabia Asia-Pacific Saudi Arabia was elected in the 2013 election, but declined the seat.[27]
 Serbia E. European Was part of Yugoslavia from 31 January 1946 to 27 April 1992[o]
 FR Yugoslavia / Serbia and Montenegro E. European Was part of Yugoslavia from 29 November 1943 to 27 April 1992
 Seychelles African Was a colony of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 29 June 1976
 Solomon Islands Asia-Pacific Was a colony of the United Kingdom from 1893 to 7 July 1978
 South Sudan African Was part of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, a condominium of the United Kingdom and Egypt until 1 January 1956, then part of Sudan from 1 January 1956 to 9 July 2011
 Suriname GRULAC Was a colony of the Netherlands from 1667 to 25 November 1975
 Tajikistan Asia-Pacific Was part of the Soviet Union from 14 October 1924 to 25 December 1991
 Tanganyika Commonwealth Seat Was a League of Nations mandate under the administration of the United Kingdom from 20 July 1922 to 11 December 1946, then a United Nations Trust Territory under the administration of the United Kingdom until 9 December 1962, then independent until federation with Zanzibar to form Tanzania
 Timor-Leste Asia-Pacific Was occupied by Indonesia from 7 December 1975 to 31 October 1999
 Tonga Asia-Pacific Was a protectorate of the United Kingdom from 18 May 1900 to 4 June 1970
 Turkmenistan Asia-Pacific Was part of the Soviet Union from 13 May 1925 to 8 December 1991
 Tuvalu Asia-Pacific Was a colony of the United Kingdom from 1892 to 1 October 1978
 Uzbekistan Asia-Pacific Was part of the Soviet Union from 13 May 1925 to 25 December 1991
 Vanuatu Asia-Pacific Was a Condominium under joint sovereignty of the United Kingdom and France from 1906 to 30 July 1980
 Zanzibar Commonwealth Seat Was a colony of the United Kingdom from 27 August 1896 to 10 December 1963, then independent until federation with Tanganyika to form Tanzania on 26 April 1964.

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ In practice, the Commonwealth seat was by then treated as a de facto African seat.[1]
  2. ^ The Eastern Europe group included Asian countries from 1956 onwards.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b Tunisia and Morocco were treated as Middle Eastern countries due to being members of the Arab League.[2]
  4. ^ Liberia took the place of the Western European country in 1961
  5. ^ Ivory Coast took the place of a member of the Commonwealth in 1964–1965.
  6. ^ Canada, Australia, and New Zealand
  7. ^ Part of Western Africa, not Central Africa
  8. ^ At the time of election, and until August 1984, the country was known as Republic of Upper Volta.
  9. ^ The election was secured by South Yemen, and in May 1990, during its membership of the Security Council, it unified with North Yemen to form the single country of Yemen.
  10. ^ Table shows years completed or in progress. Each term on the Council consist of 2 years. Any odd number of years are countries currently serving the first year of a term, countries with terms between 1956 and 1967, when the order of the council changed, or the three countries (Mexico, Egypt and the Netherlands) who had the first terms in 1946 and changed in 1947.
  11. ^ Liberia retired after one year following an agreement reached on the 15th Session. Ireland was elected for the remainder of the two-year term.[9]
  12. ^ Not a member of any regional group until joining the WEOG in 2000. Crossette, Barbara (3 December 1999). "Membership in Key Group Within U.N. Eludes Israel". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 April 2011.
  13. ^ As of May 2006, Kiribati is not a member of any regional group.
  14. ^ Montenegro was also part of FR Yugoslavia and of Serbia and Montenegro from 27 April 1992 to 5 June 2006, but these entities were not members of the Security Council.
  15. ^ Serbia was also part of FR Yugoslavia and of Serbia and Montenegro from 27 April 1992 to 5 June 2006, but these entities were not members of the Security Council.

References[edit]

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