Vampire Council

The Vampire Council acts as the governing body of the vampires, and as a court or police. It is located in far-off France, near Paris. The council members are the first and oldest vampires, the most powerful.
The council members are masters at finding that which terrifies you most and using it against you. They will use your desires against you and twist everything you are into a shape of their choosing. They are the nightmare on which all vampires are based. The thing that even other vampires fear. And to top it off they hate each other a lot.

It consists of seven powerful vampires plus the first vampire - Sweet Mother. The current Council leader is Queen of Nightmares.

Their purpose is to rule and pass judgement over the actions of all the vampires in the world. They punish or destroy any of the vampire-kind who draw unwanted attention to the undead ranks.

The primary rule among vampires is: "Thou shalt not draw attention to thyself."

They are first mentioned in Bloody Bones and play prominent roles in several of the books.

"The Council decides which of them will send out their vampires to make more. For thousands of years, it was the Queen of Nightmares, our leader; or Morte d' Amour, the lover of death and the Dragon; but they grew tired of the games and retreated inside the council chambers. You rarely see them.
She-Who-Made-Me took me to court with her more than once. It's where I met Jean-Claude. Belle Morte, Beautiful Death, sent forth her people to populate the world with vampires. Jean-Claude, Asher and I descend from her line."
Damian, Blue Moon, pg 376

We learn in 'The Harlequin' that there is an elite group of vampires that are used to carryout the punishments passed by the council. This group of vampires was originally formed by the Mother of all Darkness.

The Council Members

Belle Morte - Beautiful Death
The Earthmover - (deceased)
Morte d'Amour - Lover of Death
The Traveller - Can borrow people's bodies
The Dragon - (ID, Primo)
Padma - The Master of Beasts
Queen Of Nightmares - Acting Head of the Council

Mother of All Darkness - the first vampire, the head of the council. She has been sleeping for many centuries.