The last was Palau, formerly part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, which became a member state of the United Nations in December 1994.

Provisions to form a new UN agency to oversee the decolonization of dependent territories from colonial times were made at the San Francisco Conference in 1945 and were specified Chapter 12 of the Charter of the United Nations.

The Trusteeship Council has a president and vice-president,[2] although the sole current duty of these officers is to meet with the heads of other UN agencies on occasion.

According to the United Nations website: By a resolution adopted on 25th of May 1994, the Council amended its rules of procedure to drop the obligation to meet annually and agreed to meet as occasion required -- by its decision or the decision of its President, or at the request of a majority of its members or the General Assembly or the Security Council.

Following a three-year refurbishment, restoring its original design by Danish architect Finn Juhl, the chamber was re-opened in 2013.