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The permanent five

Name the five permanent members of the UN Security Council

Five countries hold permanent seats and a veto on the UN Security Council

Article 23 of the UN Charter names five states as permanent members of the Security Council, and only they hold a veto. Ten more members are elected for two-year terms and hold no veto; they change every year and are a different list. No permanent seat has been added or removed since the Charter was drafted in 1945, but two have changed hands: in 1971 a General Assembly resolution transferred one to a different government, and in December 1991 a successor state took over the seat of a union that had dissolved.

Name all five.