List of members of the United Nations Security Council
Membership of the United Nations Security Council is held by the five permanent members and ten elected, non-permanent members. Prior to 1966, there were six elected members, while the permanent members have in essence not changed since the creation of the United Nations in 1945, apart from the representation of China. Elected members hold their place on the Council for a two-year term, and half of these places are contested each year. To ensure geographical continuity, a certain number of members is allocated for each of the five UN regional groupings.In addition, one of the non-permanent members of the council is an Arab country, alternately from the African or Asia-Pacific groups. This rule was added to the system in 1967 for it to be applied beginning with 1968.
United Nations Regional Groups
The Western European and Others Group (WEOG for short) has 28 members (15% of all UN members). It has a territory dispersed on all of the continents, but mostly centred in Western Europe and North America. In addition, the United States is an observer (see below). Including the United States, WEOG has 5 seats on the Security Council: three permanent seats (France, United Kingdom, United States), and two non-permanent seats. The Group also has 13 seats on the United Nations Economic and Social Council and 7 seats on the United Nations Human Rights Council. In the rotation of the post of the President of the United Nations General Assembly, the group is eligible for having its nationals elected to this post in years ending with 0 and 5; most recently, Mogens Lykketoft of Denmark was elected to this position in 2015.