International Organizations


List of International Organizations

Political international organizations which make up the United Nations (UN), the European Union (EU), the IMF, OPEC, NATO, the Commonwealth and more.

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International Organizations Acronym Date HQ President / CEO / General Secretary Elected Members Composition, Elections, Seats of international organizations
Eurogroup – 1998 Brussels Paschal Donohoe, IRL 13 Juli 2020 20 Finance minister from each Euro country plus a consultant meet once monthly.
European Parliament EP or Europarl 1952 Strasbourg Roberta Metsola, Malta 18 Jan 2022 720 The direct election takes place every 5 years (most recently in June 2024).
EU European Council – 1975 Brussels Thérèse Blanchet, F 1 Nov 2022 27 All EU heads of state meet 4 times a year.
Council of Europe CoE 1949 Strasbourg Alain Berset, CH 25 June 2024 46 The Council of Europe is not affiliated with the European Union. It consists of 46 member states (all European countries except Russia). They represent around 700 million EU citizens.
EU Commission EC 1952 Brussels Ursula von der Leyen, D 1 Dec 2019 28 One commissioner per member state.
EU European Court of Justice ECJ 1952 Luxembourg Koen Lenaerts, B 2015 28 One judge per member state +8.
EU European Court of Auditors ECA 1975 Luxembourg Tony Murphy, IRL 2022 28 One member per member state.
EU Economic and Social Committee EESC 1957 Brussels Oliver Röpke, AUT April 2023 344 By country and weighting.
EU European Central Bank ECB 1993 Frankfurt Christine Lagarde, F 1 Nov 2019 28 6 seats in the Executive Board (4 fixed and 2 variable)
United Nations
 UN 1945 New York António Guterres, POR 2007 193 The UN has 193 member countries plus 2 observers
UN Security Council UNSC 1946 New York Chair changes every month 15 5 permanent and 10 variable members (every 2 years).
International Monetary Fund IMF 1944 Washington Kristalina Georgiewa, BUL Oct 2019 191 191 member states with different levels of voting rights (depending on capital).
International Court of Justice ICJ 1945 The Hague Iwasawa Yuji, JP 3 March 2025 15 15 judges are elected for nine years by the United Nations.
United Nations Human Rights Council UNHRC 2006 Geneva Omar Zniber, MAR 10 Jan 2024 47 47 members are elected by the general council for 3 years from 5 continents.
UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations DKPO 1948 New York Variable according to the UN mission. 112 countries provide 81,000 UN peacekeepers, 9400 police officers, 7000 observers and experts.
United Nations Children’s Fund UNICEF 1946 New York Catherine M. Russel, USA 2022 7000 employees in around 160 countries.
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization UNESCO 1946 Paris Audrey Azoulay, F 2017 195 One member per UN country + 6 Associate Members.
UN World Health Organization WHO 1947 Geneva Tedros Ghebreyesus, ÄTH 1 July 2017 194 one member per UN country except Lichtenstein plus Niue and the Cook Islands.
World Food Programme WFP 1961 Rome Cindy McCain, USA March 2023 36 Executive Council consists of 36 Member States.
African Union AU 2002 Addis Ababa Chair changes every year 55 55 African countries. Morocco was readmitted to the organization on 30 January 2017 after 33 years.
Pan-African Parliament PAP 2004 Midrand, South Africa Fortune Charumbira, ZWE 2022 255 255 delegates elected by the legislatures of 47 of the 55 AU states.
North Atlantic Treaty Organization NATO 1949 Brussels Mark Rutte, NL 1 Oct 2024 32 Alliance of 32 countries provide mutual defense in response to an attack by any external party. Finland (2023) and Sweden (2024) were added most recently.
Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries OPEC 1960 Vienna Changes with each session (every 6 months) 13 Petroleum exporting countries including Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, etc.
Commonwealth of Nations
(aka The Commonwealth)		 – 1931
1949		 London King Charles III is the head. Patricia Scotland is Secretary General, Paul Kagame is Chairman 56 56 countries. Most were formerly part of the British Empire including Australia, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa.

See also: UN Secretaries General list…| List of NATO Secretaries General…

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