Structure of the Arctic Council

The Arctic Council (AC) consists of three membership groups:

1. Member States include the eight circumpolar Arctic nations with sovereignty over the Arctic territories

2. Permanent Participants are the representatives of the six indigenous peoples' organisations. Although the permanent participants do not own veto rights in any decision-making, they, however, do possess full consultation rights, and actively participate in the process of negotiations and decisions. They sit and engage at the same table with the state members and offer valuable contributions to the activities undertaken by the AC.

3. Observers include state and non-state participants. Currently, this group consists of 13 countries from Asia and Europe, and 25 inter-governmental, inter-parliamentary and non-governmental organisations.

At its creation, the AC did not have a permanent administrative organisation. However, in June 2013, a standing Secretariat became operational, located at the Farm Centre in Tromso, Norway. The Secretariat provides support services to the AC Chair. The Chair serves a two-year term and rotates among the member nations. In addition to the three groups described above, the AC includes six Working Groups to carry out the activities of the AC in specific areas covering a range of subjects from climate change to emergency response. The Working Groups implement the programs and projects as mandated by official resolutions, the Ministerial Declarations or the official documents produced in Ministerial Meetings.

In addition to this basic structure, the AC may establish separate Task Forces (TF), groups of experts to perform specific tasks. Members of the TF, appointed at the Ministerial meetings, operate within the framework of the AC. However, each TF receives a specific mandate for a designated task to be accomplished within a limited time. For example, negotiating the three agreements under the auspices of the AC was the work of the TFs founded for the particular purpose set in the mandate. A TF ceases to exist automatically at the end of its specified term.

Two bodies oversee administrative functions: 1) the Ministers and 2) the Senior Arctic Officials (SAO). The Ministers meet at the end of the Chair's term: once every two years, consisting of the minister of foreign affairs from each of the Arctic member nations. The SAO meets every six months and includes high-level representatives from each member state, often ambassadors or senior foreign ministry officials. Both the Ministerial and SAO meetings include attendance by representatives of the Permanent Participants and the Observers.