The permanent members of the United Nations Security Council are the five states which the UN Charter of 1945 grants a permanent seat on the UN Security Council: The People's Republic of China (formerly the Republic of China), the French Republic, the Russian Federation (formerly the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, aka the Soviet Union), the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the United States of America. They are also all nuclear weapons states. A total of 15 UN member states serve on the UNSC, the remainder of which are elected. Any one of the five permanent members have the power of veto, which enables them to prevent the adoption of any "substantive" draft Council resolution, regardless of its level of international support.