United Nations Security Council
The UN officially came into existence on 24 October 1945 upon ratification of the Charter by the five then-permanent members of the Security Council and by a majority of the other 46 signatories. On 17 January 1946, the Security Council met for the first time at Church House, Westminster, in London, United Kingdom.
Norman Makin
On 14 January 1946, the day Makin arrived in London, Australia won a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council; as the provisional rules appointed the body's president by rotation among members in alphabetical order, Makin became the first President of the United Nations Security Council from 17 January to 16 February that year and presided over its first meeting. He described it as "the most impressive day of my life". His presidency included responses to the Iran crisis of 1946, the Indonesian National Revolution and the presence of British troops in Greece, and the appointment of the first Secretary-General. Canadian journalist Ross Munro, in comments widely reported in the Australian press, sharply criticised Makin's tenure as President of the Security Council, claiming that he was insufficiently strong or decisive, that Makin seemed "uncertain about procedural matters" and was hesitant in applying and interpreting the United Nations Charter; Munro quoted one delegate who had commented that Makin "seemed overawed", and other correspondents that he "was too anxious to please". "The Sydney Morning Herald" reported that Makin's chairmanship had been "scathingly criticised in the lobbies" in England, while "The Daily Mirror" defended Makin, stating that he had "conducted proceedings with scrupulous fairness, great care, obvious sincerity and no small degree of skill", and deriding what they labelled a "campaign to belittle and disparage" him. He again served as President of the Security Council when the presidency returned to Australia in January 1947.