United Republic Council

The United Republic Council is the governing body of the United Republic of Nations. It is composed of representatives from the Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, Air Nation, and both the Northern and Southern Water Tribes.

History
Following the aftermath of the Hundred Year War, Avatar Aang and Fire Lord Zuko reformed the Fire Nation colonies into a fifth nation, the United Republic of Nations, and established Republic City as its capital. Representatives from each of the four nations formed the United Republic Council to govern the republic.

Following an Equalist gathering where Amon showcased his ability to permanently remove people's bending, the council convened over the best course of action. Tarrlok proposed to create a task force to find Amon and bring him to justice. Tenzin opposed this aggressive move, stating that it would only further divide the bending and non-bending communities of the city. Tenzin was strengthened in his opposition as Tarrlok volunteered to lead the task force himself, seeing that move as a play to gain more power. In order to gain the approval of the other three council members, Tarrlok drew a comparison between his own actions against Amon and the actions of Avatar Aang against Yakone, stating that they were both willing to deal with danger head on. Tarrlok emphasized that Amon was not going to stop with the bending triads, and was going to come after every bender in the world, including the friends and families of the council members, unless they voted for the task force and let him stop Amon. This argument worked, as the council voted in favor of the attack, and subsequently declared Amon to be public enemy number one.



Several days later, Amon called on the council to shut down the Pro-bending Arena on the night of the championship match or there would be "severe consequences" should the council fail to comply. Concerned about the safety of the innocent spectators, the council members unanimously agreed to shut the arena down. Korra, Mako, and Bolin barged in on the closed council meeting and argued that they could not give in to Amon's threats. Just as Tarrlok was about to make the decision final by slamming the gavel on the table, Lin Beifong showed up and halted him by destroying the object with her metal cables. Agreeing with Korra, she stated that the council should show some backbone, and offered to personally oversee the extra security measurements during the tournament with her Metalbending Police Force. Except for Tenzin, the council agreed to Lin's offer and let the tournament continue.

Council
The current United Republic Council consists of five members, each representing one of the four nations. Two members are present from the Water Tribes, representing each of the two major tribal factions. The council discusses political affairs regarding the United Republic of Nations inside the City Hall.

Notable members

 * Tarrlok (representative of the Northern Water Tribe)
 * Tenzin (representative of the Air Nation)

Trivia

 * All of the council members are benders.
 * The Fire Nation councilwoman is the only female member in the council.
 * The Fire Nation councilwoman is voiced by Mindy Sterling, who also voices Lin Beifong.
 * Tarrlok and Tenzin have a longstanding rivalry, as they rarely agree on the best way to govern Republic City.
 * Each member of the council wears a small, gold, ten-sided badge somewhere on their clothing. The badge is in the same shape as the insignia located on one of City Hall's windows.
 * The council has some similarities to the United Nations, especially in the five members which is similar to how the United Nations Security Council has five permanent members.