Estonia and the Caribbean island nation of St. Vincent and the Grenadines have been elected to the U.N.'s most powerful body for the first time alongside Niger, Tunisia and Vietnam.

The 193 states of the General Assembly chose new members Friday for the Security Council.

China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States are permanent members with veto power.

Other members are elected by the assembly for staggered, two-year terms. Those currently include Belgium, the Dominican Republic, Germany, Indonesia and South Africa.

The coveted seats are allocated by global regions, and some spots on the 15 member council go uncontested.

Estonia beat out Romania on Friday for its place after winning two rounds of voting and a 2/3 majority.