The Board of Peace (BoP), or the Peace Board, is an international organization with the stated purpose of promoting peacebuilding around the world. Established by President Donald Trump and led by the government of the United States, the board is named in United Nations Security Council Resolution 2803 as a body tasked with overseeing the processes of the Gaza peace plan. The Board of Peace was proposed in September 2025 and formally established on the side-lines of the 56th World Economic Forum in January 2026.
Resolution 2803 welcomed the board to aid with reconstruction efforts in the Gaza Strip, via the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), and authorized it to deploy a temporary peacekeeping force. Participating countries are required to contribute US$1 billion to the organization to renew membership after the first three years. As of 2026, 25 of the 62 invited countries have signed the board's charter. The board's launch failed to attract enthusiasm from most world leaders, and it did not gain support from a number of Western countries.
Several policy analysts and officials have expressed concerns about the board's governance model, raising concerns over the decision-making authority concentrated in its chair, Donald Trump, who has indicated he intends to remain chairman for life. European nations have expressed concern over the board usurping the role of the United Nations (UN) and exceeding its stated purpose to aid the Gaza Strip. Trump has stated that the BoP could potentially replace the UN, while also expressing continued support for the latter, and has defended the BoP's reputation, describing it as "the most prestigious Board ever assembled, at any time, any place". By May 2026, the BoP had no funds in its official World Bank account, despite $17 billion in pledges by member states. Donations have gone into a J. P. Morgan account with no oversight.
Contents
Background
Following the destruction of the Gaza Strip during the Gaza war, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair initially proposed placing the Strip under international administration in August 2025. United States President Donald Trump presented a similar plan in late September 2025 which was partially accepted by both the Israeli government and Hamas the following month.
The United Nations Security Council adopted United Nations Security Council Resolution 2803 on 17 November 2025 welcoming the establishment of the BoP. Resolution 2803 authorized the board to deploy an International Stabilization Force to the Gaza Strip. The US Congress played no role in authorizing the project, and it was described by an MS NOW opinion writer as the latest in a series of attempted power grabs by Trump. Following the entry into force of the Gaza peace agreement two days earlier, Blair met Hussein al-Sheikh (the Vice President of Palestine) on 12 October 2025 in Jordan to discuss the reconstruction in the Gaza Strip. That evening, Trump declared "the war is over" and that the BoP would be formed quickly.
History
In early January 2026, it was reported that Nikolay Mladenov (former United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process) had been chosen to serve as BoP director-general. Mladenov subsequently held meetings with al-Sheikh and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. On 11 January 2026, it was reported that Trump was expected to announce within the week the individuals whom he would appoint to the BoP. In response, Hamas spokesperson Hazem Kassem called for the expedited establishment of the NCAG.
With the commencement of the second phase of the Gaza Peace Agreement on 14 January 2026, it was reported that the United States had sent invitations to several countries to join the board and that it would have its first meeting on the side-lines of the World Economic Forum summit the following week. Trump announced the formation of the board on 15 January 2026 via a post on Truth Social, which said, "It is my Great Honor to announce that THE BOARD OF PEACE has been formed. The Members of the Board will be announced shortly, but I can say with certainty that it is the Greatest and Most Prestigious Board ever assembled at any time, any place."
On 17 January 2026, Argentine president Javier Milei and Argentine ambassador to the United States Alec Oxenford announced that Trump had formally invited Argentina to join the Board and become a founding member. Milei posted on X (formerly Twitter) that he thanked Trump for the invitation, calling it an "honor" and reaffirming that Argentina "stand[s] with the countries" that "confront terrorism head-on" and "defend life and property".
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney were also invited by Trump, with Carney confirming his participation. Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama posted on Facebook that Albania had been personally invited to join the Board and become a founding member, describing it as major international recognition and a sign of the country's growing international standing.
On 20 January 2026, President Trump referenced the "Board of Peace", citing that "the United Nations never helped [him]" as a reason for its existence and claiming that it "might" replace the UN. On 22 January 2026, Trump hosted a signing ceremony for the founding charter of the BoP on the side-lines of the 56th World Economic Forum in Davos. Leaders and foreign ministers of 19 countries, in addition to the United States, attended the BoP signing ceremony in Davos and signed the founding charter.
Structure
The charter of the BoP outlines a multi-level structure for the organization, which includes:
Donald Trump, designated as chairman for life.
The board proper, mainly comprising national leaders. About sixty were invited by Trump.
The Board of Peace Executive Board, with a focus on diplomacy and investment. Seven members were appointed by Trump.
The Gaza Executive Board, to direct the NCAG. Its head, Nikolay Mladenov, who was appointed to the board alongside ten others, is titled the High Representative for Gaza.
Chairman
Trump is explicitly named in the BoP's charter as its chairman. He is not subject to term limits and holds the sole authority to nominate his designated successor. According to the charter, as the chairman, he is exclusively authorized to invite countries to join the BoP. In that capacity, he also has the exclusive authority to create, modify, or dissolve subsidiary entities of the board. All revisions to the charter, as well as administrative directives issued by the BoP, are subject to his approval. Trump's chairmanship is independent of his presidency of the United States, and he has indicated that he wants to remain chairman for life.
Board of Peace Executive Board
The members of the Board of Peace Executive Board were announced on 17 January 2026. They are:
Nikolay Mladenov – High Representative for Gaza, former United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process
Marco Rubio – United States Secretary of State
Steve Witkoff – United States Special Envoy to the Middle East
Jared Kushner – Donald Trump's son-in-law
Tony Blair – Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Marc Rowan – CEO of Apollo Global Management
Ajay Banga – President of the World Bank Group
Robert Gabriel Jr. – American political advisor
Gaza Executive Board
A Gaza Executive Board supports the High Representative for Gaza and the NCAG. Its members, also announced on 17 January 2026, are:
Steve Witkoff – United States Special Envoy to the Middle East
Jared Kushner – Donald Trump's son-in-law
Hakan Fidan – Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey
Ali al-Thawadi – Minister for Strategic Affairs of Qatar
Hassan Rashad – Director of the General Intelligence Service of Egypt
Tony Blair – Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Marc Rowan – CEO of Apollo Global Management
Reem Al Hashimy – Minister of State for International Cooperation of the United Arab Emirates
Nikolay Mladenov – High Representative for Gaza
Yakir Gabay – Israeli businessman
Sigrid Kaag – United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process
Funding
By May 2026, the BoP had no funds in its official World Bank account, despite $17 billion in pledges by member states. Donations have gone into a J.P. Morgan account which is not obligated to report its financial position to contributors and board members. $20 million contributed by Morocco were used to fund the office of Nickolay Mladenov and salaries for the committee the BoP formed to govern Gaza. $100 million donated by the United Arab Emirates for the training of a Gaza police force were frozen, and the program was on hold.
Membership status
Around 60 countries received invitations from Trump to join the BoP fas founding members. No countries from Sub-Saharan Africa received invitations. Countries wishing to be permanent members of the BoP must pay US$1 billion into a fund controlled by Trump; otherwise, each country serves a three-year term which may be renewed at his discretion.
Members
The following states signed the charter of the BoP. All except Cambodia, Egypt, El Salvador, Israel, Kuwait and Vietnam signed it at the inaugural meeting on January 22, 2026, and became founding members.
Belarus intented to accept the invitation but their delegation did not receive U.S. visas to attend the inaugural meeting and is therefore not a member:
Other invitees
The following states and the European Union attended the first meeting of the Board of Peace as observers.
The following states were invited but did not respond or participate as observers:
The following state received an invitation that was subsequently rescinded:
The following states declined Trump's invitation to participate:
Countries, other entities that have declined to join
Leaders of Brazil, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden, and the European Union said they will not join the board; the Vatican also declined to join, saying that "efforts to handle crisis situations should be managed by the United Nations".
Meetings
Headquarters
According to the BoP's charter, the Government of the United States serves as its official depository. In late January 2026, Trump designated the headquarters of the United States Institute of Peace, which he had taken over and renamed the "Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace", in Washington D.C. as the seat of the board. The institute's name and legal status were provisionally as dictated by the US government, pending an appeal it had filed against a federal judge's decision that the takeover was illegal.
Symbols
The charter of the BoP states that it shall have an official seal approved by its chairman. A logo, used at the inaugural meeting on 22 January 2026, features a globe showing most of the United States along with Canada and Mexico, the northern portions of South America, and a small portion of Africa, while omitting Europe, Asia, and Oceania entirely. The globe is superimposed on a shield flanked by olive branches, all rendered in a gold color scheme. Them logo is displayed on a white field when a flag is needed to represent the organization.
The design places the continental United States around the visual centre of the globe, a compositional choice that has been noted for contrasting with the globally inclusive cartographic representation used by the United Nations.
The design of the BoP logo has been widely mocked on social media. As an allegedly AI-generated derivative work of the Emblem of the United Nations, it has been described as "AI slop". A senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations has described the logo as a "US-first western hemisphere flanked by rip-off UN olive branches burnished in Trumpian gold".
Reception
The board has failed to attract enthusiasm from most world leaders. It did not gain support from a number of Western countries, notably the United Kingdom, France and Norway, with Keir Starmer calling Vladimir Putin's role "concerning". Some European Union ambassadors reportedly raised "serious doubts" and said that they would examine the legal framework before taking a position.
France voiced concern that it seeks to usurp the role of the United Nations. In response to France stating its intention to "not answer favourably" to Trump's invitation to join his "BoP", Trump threatened 200 percent tariffs on French wine and champagne. He also remarked of Emmanuel Macron, "Nobody wants him because he's going to be out of office very soon."
A Canadian government source expressed to the media that Canada would not pay for a seat on Trump's proposed board of peace, adding that Prime Minister Mark Carney intended to accept the invitation but not under the terms outlined by Trump. Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne later publicly confirmed that the federal government would not pay the "$1 billion US price tag". However, Trump rescinded Canada's invitation days after Carney delivered a speech at Davos warning of an "era of great power rivalry" and arguing that the US-led world order had ended. Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East said that Carney's participation would have conferred "undeserved legitimacy" on the board, adding that Canadians expected clear opposition to what it described as "Trump's power grab".
Similarly, Brazil, under President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, viewed the proposal with caution, expressing concern that it could concentrate excessive power in the US presidency and overshadow the role of the UN.
Norway too declined to join; its state secretary, Kristoffer Thoner, said the proposal "raises a number of questions that require further dialogue with the United States". Sweden did not issue a formal response but PM Ulf Kristersson reportedly stated on the sidelines of the 2026 World Economic Forum that the country would not sign up to the board over its textual content. Slovenia's PM Robert Golob declined the invitation because the body "dangerously interferes with the broader international order".