diff --git a/core/modules/block/block.admin.inc b/core/modules/block/block.admin.inc
index f9fa425..a83dfad 100644
--- a/core/modules/block/block.admin.inc
+++ b/core/modules/block/block.admin.inc
@@ -466,7 +466,7 @@ function block_admin_configure($form, &$form_state, $module, $delta) {
     ':module' => $block->module,
     ':delta' => $block->delta,
   ))->fetchCol();
-  $role_options = array_map('check_plain', user_roles());
+  $role_options = array_map('check_plain', user_role_names());
   $form['visibility']['role'] = array(
     '#type' => 'details',
     '#title' => t('Roles'),
diff --git a/core/modules/block/block.module b/core/modules/block/block.module
index 26bcb25..3fc2e5b 100644
--- a/core/modules/block/block.module
+++ b/core/modules/block/block.module
@@ -1029,7 +1029,7 @@ function template_preprocess_block(&$variables) {
  */
 function block_user_role_delete($role) {
   db_delete('block_role')
-    ->condition('rid', $role->rid)
+    ->condition('rid', $role->id())
     ->execute();
 }
 
diff --git a/core/modules/comment/lib/Drupal/comment/Tests/CommentLinksTest.php b/core/modules/comment/lib/Drupal/comment/Tests/CommentLinksTest.php
index d049aa3..91cab48 100644
--- a/core/modules/comment/lib/Drupal/comment/Tests/CommentLinksTest.php
+++ b/core/modules/comment/lib/Drupal/comment/Tests/CommentLinksTest.php
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ function testCommentLinks() {
 
     // Remove additional user permissions from $this->web_user added by setUp(),
     // since this test is limited to anonymous and authenticated roles only.
-    user_role_delete(key($this->web_user->roles));
+    entity_delete_multiple('user_role', array(key($this->web_user->roles)));
 
     // Matrix of possible environmental conditions and configuration settings.
     // See setEnvironment() for details.
diff --git a/core/modules/filter/filter.admin.inc b/core/modules/filter/filter.admin.inc
index c01fb93..0b75ba0 100644
--- a/core/modules/filter/filter.admin.inc
+++ b/core/modules/filter/filter.admin.inc
@@ -190,7 +190,7 @@ function filter_admin_format_form($form, &$form_state, $format) {
   $form['roles'] = array(
     '#type' => 'checkboxes',
     '#title' => t('Roles'),
-    '#options' => array_map('check_plain', user_roles()),
+    '#options' => array_map('check_plain', user_role_names()),
     '#disabled' => $is_fallback,
   );
   if ($is_fallback) {
diff --git a/core/modules/filter/filter.module b/core/modules/filter/filter.module
index 1aff070..632edde 100644
--- a/core/modules/filter/filter.module
+++ b/core/modules/filter/filter.module
@@ -505,11 +505,11 @@ function filter_formats_reset() {
 function filter_get_roles_by_format($format) {
   // Handle the fallback format upfront (all roles have access to this format).
   if ($format->format == filter_fallback_format()) {
-    return user_roles();
+    return user_role_names();
   }
   // Do not list any roles if the permission does not exist.
   $permission = filter_permission_name($format);
-  return !empty($permission) ? user_roles(FALSE, $permission) : array();
+  return !empty($permission) ? user_role_names(FALSE, $permission) : array();
 }
 
 /**
diff --git a/core/modules/filter/lib/Drupal/filter/Tests/FilterFormatAccessTest.php b/core/modules/filter/lib/Drupal/filter/Tests/FilterFormatAccessTest.php
index 4636610..9c2fd68 100644
--- a/core/modules/filter/lib/Drupal/filter/Tests/FilterFormatAccessTest.php
+++ b/core/modules/filter/lib/Drupal/filter/Tests/FilterFormatAccessTest.php
@@ -147,7 +147,7 @@ function testFormatRoles() {
     $this->assertFalse(in_array($this->disallowed_format->format, array_keys(filter_get_formats_by_role($rid))), 'A text format which a role does not have access to does not appear in the list of formats available to that role.');
 
     // Check that the fallback format is always allowed.
-    $this->assertEqual(filter_get_roles_by_format(filter_format_load(filter_fallback_format())), user_roles(), 'All roles have access to the fallback format.');
+    $this->assertEqual(filter_get_roles_by_format(filter_format_load(filter_fallback_format())), user_role_names(), 'All roles have access to the fallback format.');
     $this->assertTrue(in_array(filter_fallback_format(), array_keys(filter_get_formats_by_role($rid))), 'The fallback format appears in the list of allowed formats for any role.');
   }
 
diff --git a/core/modules/node/node.views.inc b/core/modules/node/node.views.inc
index a67b870..e77fffb 100644
--- a/core/modules/node/node.views.inc
+++ b/core/modules/node/node.views.inc
@@ -690,11 +690,9 @@ function node_views_analyze($view) {
         // check for no access control
         $access = $display->getOption('access');
         if (empty($access['type']) || $access['type'] == 'none') {
-          $select = db_select('role', 'r');
-          $select->innerJoin('role_permission', 'p', 'r.rid = p.rid');
-          $result = $select->fields('r', array('rid'))
-            ->fields('p', array('permission'))
-            ->condition('r.rid', array('anonymous', 'authenticated'), 'IN')
+          $result = db_select('role_permissions', 'p')
+            ->fields('p', array('rid', 'permission'))
+            ->condition('p.rid', array('anonymous', 'authenticated'), 'IN')
             ->condition('p.permission', 'access content')
             ->execute();
 
diff --git a/core/modules/simpletest/lib/Drupal/simpletest/WebTestBase.php b/core/modules/simpletest/lib/Drupal/simpletest/WebTestBase.php
index 6e41540..faa2566 100644
--- a/core/modules/simpletest/lib/Drupal/simpletest/WebTestBase.php
+++ b/core/modules/simpletest/lib/Drupal/simpletest/WebTestBase.php
@@ -482,22 +482,23 @@ protected function drupalCreateRole(array $permissions, $rid = NULL, $name = NUL
     }
 
     // Create new role.
-    $role = new stdClass();
-    $role->rid = $rid;
-    $role->name = $name;
-    $result = user_role_save($role);
+    $role = entity_create('user_role', array(
+      'id' => $rid,
+      'label' => $name,
+    ));
+    $result = $role->save();
 
     $this->assertIdentical($result, SAVED_NEW, t('Created role ID @rid with name @name.', array(
-      '@name' => var_export($role->name, TRUE),
-      '@rid' => var_export($role->rid, TRUE),
+      '@name' => var_export($role->label(), TRUE),
+      '@rid' => var_export($role->id(), TRUE),
     )), t('Role'));
 
     if ($result === SAVED_NEW) {
       // Grant the specified permissions to the role, if any.
       if (!empty($permissions)) {
-        user_role_grant_permissions($role->rid, $permissions);
+        user_role_grant_permissions($role->id(), $permissions);
 
-        $assigned_permissions = db_query('SELECT permission FROM {role_permission} WHERE rid = :rid', array(':rid' => $role->rid))->fetchCol();
+        $assigned_permissions = db_query('SELECT permission FROM {role_permission} WHERE rid = :rid', array(':rid' => $role->id()))->fetchCol();
         $missing_permissions = array_diff($permissions, $assigned_permissions);
         if (!$missing_permissions) {
           $this->pass(t('Created permissions: @perms', array('@perms' => implode(', ', $permissions))), t('Role'));
@@ -506,7 +507,7 @@ protected function drupalCreateRole(array $permissions, $rid = NULL, $name = NUL
           $this->fail(t('Failed to create permissions: @perms', array('@perms' => implode(', ', $missing_permissions))), t('Role'));
         }
       }
-      return $role->rid;
+      return $role->id();
     }
     else {
       return FALSE;
diff --git a/core/modules/user/config/user.role.anonymous.yml b/core/modules/user/config/user.role.anonymous.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..11defb0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/modules/user/config/user.role.anonymous.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+id: anonymous
+label: Anonymous user
+weight: 0
diff --git a/core/modules/user/config/user.role.authenticated.yml b/core/modules/user/config/user.role.authenticated.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..dc4b65d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/modules/user/config/user.role.authenticated.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+id: authenticated
+label: Authenticated user
+weight: 1
diff --git a/core/modules/user/lib/Drupal/user/AccountFormController.php b/core/modules/user/lib/Drupal/user/AccountFormController.php
index 512f703..b3043de 100644
--- a/core/modules/user/lib/Drupal/user/AccountFormController.php
+++ b/core/modules/user/lib/Drupal/user/AccountFormController.php
@@ -126,7 +126,7 @@ public function form(array $form, array &$form_state, EntityInterface $account)
       '#access' => $admin,
     );
 
-    $roles = array_map('check_plain', user_roles(TRUE));
+    $roles = array_map('check_plain', user_role_names(TRUE));
     // The disabled checkbox subelement for the 'authenticated user' role
     // must be generated separately and added to the checkboxes element,
     // because of a limitation in Form API not supporting a single disabled
diff --git a/core/modules/user/lib/Drupal/user/Plugin/Core/Entity/Role.php b/core/modules/user/lib/Drupal/user/Plugin/Core/Entity/Role.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5cfb857
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/modules/user/lib/Drupal/user/Plugin/Core/Entity/Role.php
@@ -0,0 +1,60 @@
+<?php
+
+/**
+ * @file
+ * Contains Drupal\user\Plugin\Core\Entity\Role.
+ */
+
+namespace Drupal\user\Plugin\Core\Entity;
+
+use Drupal\Core\Annotation\Plugin;
+use Drupal\Core\Annotation\Translation;
+use Drupal\Core\Config\Entity\ConfigEntityBase;
+
+/**
+ * Defines the user role entity class.
+ *
+ * @Plugin(
+ *   id = "user_role",
+ *   label = @Translation("Role"),
+ *   module = "user",
+ *   controller_class = "Drupal\user\RoleStorageController",
+ *   config_prefix = "user.role",
+ *   entity_keys = {
+ *     "id" = "id",
+ *     "uuid" = "uuid",
+ *     "label" = "label"
+ *   }
+ * )
+ */
+class Role extends ConfigEntityBase {
+
+  /**
+   * The primary identifier of a role (config name).
+   *
+   * @var string
+   */
+  public $id;
+
+  /**
+   * The UUID of a role.
+   *
+   * @var string
+   */
+  public $uuid;
+
+  /**
+   * The label of a role.
+   *
+   * @var string
+   */
+  public $label;
+
+  /**
+   * The weight of this role in listings and the user interface.
+   *
+   * @var int
+   */
+  public $weight = 0;
+
+}
diff --git a/core/modules/user/lib/Drupal/user/Plugin/views/access/Role.php b/core/modules/user/lib/Drupal/user/Plugin/views/access/Role.php
index 2a07d79..146968a 100644
--- a/core/modules/user/lib/Drupal/user/Plugin/views/access/Role.php
+++ b/core/modules/user/lib/Drupal/user/Plugin/views/access/Role.php
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ public function summaryTitle() {
       return t('Multiple roles');
     }
     else {
-      $rids = user_roles();
+      $rids = user_role_names();
       $rid = reset($this->options['role']);
       return check_plain($rids[$rid]);
     }
diff --git a/core/modules/user/lib/Drupal/user/Plugin/views/argument/RolesRid.php b/core/modules/user/lib/Drupal/user/Plugin/views/argument/RolesRid.php
index 634307e..da3bd92 100644
--- a/core/modules/user/lib/Drupal/user/Plugin/views/argument/RolesRid.php
+++ b/core/modules/user/lib/Drupal/user/Plugin/views/argument/RolesRid.php
@@ -23,16 +23,7 @@
 class RolesRid extends ManyToOne {
 
   function title_query() {
-    $titles = array();
-
-    $query = db_select('role', 'r');
-    $query->addField('r', 'name');
-    $query->condition('r.rid', $this->value);
-    $result = $query->execute();
-    foreach ($result as $term) {
-      $titles[] = check_plain($term->name);
-    }
-    return $titles;
+    return array(entity_load('user_role', $this->value)->label());
   }
 
 }
diff --git a/core/modules/user/lib/Drupal/user/Plugin/views/argument_validator/User.php b/core/modules/user/lib/Drupal/user/Plugin/views/argument_validator/User.php
index a31b0af..36a6a5a 100644
--- a/core/modules/user/lib/Drupal/user/Plugin/views/argument_validator/User.php
+++ b/core/modules/user/lib/Drupal/user/Plugin/views/argument_validator/User.php
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ public function buildOptionsForm(&$form, &$form_state) {
     $form['roles'] = array(
       '#type' => 'checkboxes',
       '#title' => t('Restrict to the selected roles'),
-      '#options' => array_map('check_plain', user_roles(TRUE)),
+      '#options' => array_map('check_plain', user_role_names(TRUE)),
       '#default_value' => $this->options['roles'],
       '#description' => t('If no roles are selected, users from any role will be allowed.'),
       '#states' => array(
diff --git a/core/modules/user/lib/Drupal/user/Plugin/views/field/Roles.php b/core/modules/user/lib/Drupal/user/Plugin/views/field/Roles.php
index c4eb050..3de90d4 100644
--- a/core/modules/user/lib/Drupal/user/Plugin/views/field/Roles.php
+++ b/core/modules/user/lib/Drupal/user/Plugin/views/field/Roles.php
@@ -47,15 +47,15 @@ function pre_render(&$values) {
     }
 
     if ($uids) {
-      $query = db_select('role', 'r');
-      $query->join('users_roles', 'u', 'u.rid = r.rid');
-      $query->addField('r', 'name');
+      $roles = user_roles();
+      $query = db_select('users_roles', 'u');
       $query->fields('u', array('uid', 'rid'));
+      $query->condition('u.rid', array_keys($roles));
       $query->condition('u.uid', $uids);
       $query->orderBy('r.name');
       $result = $query->execute();
       foreach ($result as $role) {
-        $this->items[$role->uid][$role->rid]['role'] = check_plain($role->name);
+        $this->items[$role->uid][$role->rid]['role'] = $roles[$role->rid]->label();
         $this->items[$role->uid][$role->rid]['rid'] = $role->rid;
       }
     }
diff --git a/core/modules/user/lib/Drupal/user/Plugin/views/filter/Roles.php b/core/modules/user/lib/Drupal/user/Plugin/views/filter/Roles.php
index 8ee3569..139856e 100644
--- a/core/modules/user/lib/Drupal/user/Plugin/views/filter/Roles.php
+++ b/core/modules/user/lib/Drupal/user/Plugin/views/filter/Roles.php
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@
 class Roles extends ManyToOne {
 
   function get_value_options() {
-    $this->value_options = user_roles(TRUE);
+    $this->value_options = user_role_names(TRUE);
     unset($this->value_options[DRUPAL_AUTHENTICATED_RID]);
   }
 
diff --git a/core/modules/user/lib/Drupal/user/RoleStorageController.php b/core/modules/user/lib/Drupal/user/RoleStorageController.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4ab5727
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/modules/user/lib/Drupal/user/RoleStorageController.php
@@ -0,0 +1,76 @@
+<?php
+
+/**
+ * @file
+ * Contains Drupal\user\RoleStorageController.
+ */
+
+namespace Drupal\user;
+
+use Drupal\Core\Config\Entity\ConfigStorageController;
+use Drupal\Core\Entity\EntityInterface;
+
+/**
+ * Controller class for user roles.
+ */
+class RoleStorageController extends ConfigStorageController {
+
+  /**
+   * Overrides ConfigStorageController::save().
+   */
+  public function save(EntityInterface $entity) {
+    // Prevent leading and trailing spaces in role names.
+    $entity->label = trim($entity->label);
+
+    if (!isset($entity->weight)) {
+      $roles = entity_load_multiple('entity_roles');
+      // Set a role weight to make this new role last.
+      $max = array_reduce($roles, function($max, $entity) {
+        return $max > $entity->weight ? $max : $entity->weight;
+      });
+      $entity->weight = $max + 1;
+    }
+
+    return parent::save($entity);
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Overrides ConfigStorageController::resetCache().
+   */
+  public function resetCache(array $ids = NULL) {
+    parent::resetCache($ids);
+
+    // Clear the user access cache.
+    drupal_static_reset('user_access');
+    drupal_static_reset('user_role_permissions');
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Overrides ConfigStorageController::postDelete().
+   */
+  protected function postDelete($entities) {
+    $rids = array_keys($entities);
+
+    foreach ($entities as $entity) {
+      db_delete('role_permission')
+        ->condition('rid', $entity->id())
+        ->execute();
+    }
+
+    // Update the users who have this role set:
+    db_delete('users_roles')
+      ->condition('rid', $rids)
+      ->execute();
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Overrides ConfigStorageController::attachLoad().
+   */
+  protected function attachLoad(&$queried_entities, $revision_id = FALSE) {
+    // Sort the queried roles by their weight.
+    uasort($queried_entities, 'drupal_sort_weight');
+
+    parent::attachLoad($queried_entities, $revision_id);
+  }
+
+}
diff --git a/core/modules/user/lib/Drupal/user/Tests/UserRoleAdminTest.php b/core/modules/user/lib/Drupal/user/Tests/UserRoleAdminTest.php
index 50d4da7..a024a84 100644
--- a/core/modules/user/lib/Drupal/user/Tests/UserRoleAdminTest.php
+++ b/core/modules/user/lib/Drupal/user/Tests/UserRoleAdminTest.php
@@ -37,10 +37,10 @@ function testRoleAdministration() {
     // correspond to an integer, to test that the role administration pages
     // correctly distinguish between role names and IDs.)
     $role_name = '123';
-    $edit = array('role[name]' => $role_name, 'role[rid]' => $role_name);
+    $edit = array('role[label]' => $role_name, 'role[id]' => $role_name);
     $this->drupalPost('admin/people/roles', $edit, t('Add role'));
     $this->assertText(t('The role has been added.'), 'The role has been added.');
-    $role = user_role_load($role_name);
+    $role = entity_load('user_role', $role_name);
     $this->assertTrue(is_object($role), 'The role was successfully retrieved from the database.');
 
     // Try adding a duplicate role.
@@ -50,18 +50,18 @@ function testRoleAdministration() {
     // Test renaming a role.
     $old_name = $role_name;
     $role_name = '456';
-    $edit = array('role[name]' => $role_name);
-    $this->drupalPost("admin/people/roles/edit/{$role->rid}", $edit, t('Save role'));
+    $edit = array('role[label]' => $role_name);
+    $this->drupalPost("admin/people/roles/edit/{$role->id()}", $edit, t('Save role'));
     $this->assertText(t('The role has been renamed.'), 'The role has been renamed.');
-    $new_role = user_role_load($old_name);
-    $this->assertEqual($new_role->name, $role_name, 'The role name has been successfully changed.');
+    $new_role = entity_load('user_role', $old_name);
+    $this->assertEqual($new_role->label(), $role_name, 'The role name has been successfully changed.');
 
     // Test deleting a role.
-    $this->drupalPost("admin/people/roles/edit/{$role->rid}", NULL, t('Delete role'));
+    $this->drupalPost("admin/people/roles/edit/{$role->id()}", NULL, t('Delete role'));
     $this->drupalPost(NULL, NULL, t('Delete'));
     $this->assertText(t('The role has been deleted.'), 'The role has been deleted');
-    $this->assertNoLinkByHref("admin/people/roles/edit/{$role->rid}", 'Role edit link removed.');
-    $this->assertFalse(user_role_load($role_name), 'A deleted role can no longer be loaded.');
+    $this->assertNoLinkByHref("admin/people/roles/edit/{$role->id()}", 'Role edit link removed.');
+    $this->assertFalse(entity_load('user_role', $role_name), 'A deleted role can no longer be loaded.');
 
     // Make sure that the system-defined roles can be edited via the user
     // interface.
@@ -80,8 +80,8 @@ function testRoleWeightChange() {
     $this->drupalLogin($this->admin_user);
 
     // Pick up a random role and get its weight.
-    $rid = array_rand(user_roles());
-    $role = user_role_load($rid);
+    $rid = array_rand(user_role_names());
+    $role = entity_load('user_role', $rid);
     $old_weight = $role->weight;
 
     // Change the role weight and submit the form.
@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ function testRoleWeightChange() {
     $this->assertText(t('The role settings have been updated.'), 'The role settings form submitted successfully.');
 
     // Retrieve the saved role and compare its weight.
-    $role = user_role_load($rid);
+    $role = entity_load('user_role', $rid);
     $new_weight = $role->weight;
     $this->assertTrue(($old_weight + 1) == $new_weight, 'Role weight updated successfully.');
   }
diff --git a/core/modules/user/lib/Drupal/user/UserStorageController.php b/core/modules/user/lib/Drupal/user/UserStorageController.php
index 5d7b634..3d8e981 100644
--- a/core/modules/user/lib/Drupal/user/UserStorageController.php
+++ b/core/modules/user/lib/Drupal/user/UserStorageController.php
@@ -34,9 +34,9 @@ function attachLoad(&$queried_users, $load_revision = FALSE) {
     }
 
     // Add any additional roles from the database.
-    $result = db_query('SELECT r.rid, r.name, ur.uid FROM {role} r INNER JOIN {users_roles} ur ON ur.rid = r.rid WHERE ur.uid IN (:uids)', array(':uids' => array_keys($queried_users)));
+    $result = db_query('SELECT rid, uid FROM {users_roles} WHERE uid IN (:uids)', array(':uids' => array_keys($queried_users)));
     foreach ($result as $record) {
-      $queried_users[$record->uid]->roles[$record->rid] = $record->name;
+      $queried_users[$record->uid]->roles[$record->rid] = $record->rid;
     }
 
     // Call the default attachLoad() method. This will add fields and call
diff --git a/core/modules/user/user.admin.inc b/core/modules/user/user.admin.inc
index dcd76d7..5fe9fbf 100644
--- a/core/modules/user/user.admin.inc
+++ b/core/modules/user/user.admin.inc
@@ -208,7 +208,7 @@ function user_admin_account() {
 
   $destination = drupal_get_destination();
   $status = array(t('blocked'), t('active'));
-  $roles = array_map('check_plain', user_roles(TRUE));
+  $roles = array_map('check_plain', user_role_names(TRUE));
   $accounts = array();
   foreach ($result as $account) {
     $account = user_load($account->uid);
@@ -316,7 +316,7 @@ function user_admin_settings($form, &$form_state) {
 
   // Do not allow users to set the anonymous or authenticated user roles as the
   // administrator role.
-  $roles = user_roles();
+  $roles = user_role_names();
   unset($roles[DRUPAL_ANONYMOUS_RID]);
   unset($roles[DRUPAL_AUTHENTICATED_RID]);
   $roles[0] = t('disabled');
@@ -659,7 +659,7 @@ function user_admin_settings_submit($form, &$form_state) {
 function user_admin_permissions($form, $form_state, $rid = NULL) {
 
   // Retrieve role names for columns.
-  $role_names = user_roles();
+  $role_names = user_role_names();
   if (isset($rid)) {
     $role_names = array($rid => $role_names[$rid]);
   }
@@ -760,7 +760,7 @@ function user_admin_permissions_submit($form, &$form_state) {
 function theme_user_admin_permissions($variables) {
   $form = $variables['form'];
 
-  $roles = user_roles();
+  $roles = user_role_names();
   foreach (element_children($form['permission']) as $key) {
     $row = array();
     // Module name
@@ -829,27 +829,22 @@ function theme_user_permission_description($variables) {
  * @see theme_user_admin_roles()
  */
 function user_admin_roles($form, $form_state) {
-  $roles = db_select('role', 'r')
-    ->addTag('translatable')
-    ->fields('r')
-    ->orderBy('weight')
-    ->orderBy('name')
-    ->execute();
+  $roles = user_roles();
 
   $form['roles'] = array(
     '#tree' => TRUE,
   );
   $max_weight = 0;
-  foreach ($roles as $role) {
+  foreach ($roles as $rid => $role) {
     $max_weight = max($max_weight, $role->weight);
-    $form['roles'][$role->rid]['#role'] = $role;
-    $form['roles'][$role->rid]['#weight'] = $role->weight;
-    $form['roles'][$role->rid]['name'] = array(
-      '#markup' => check_plain($role->name),
+    $form['roles'][$rid]['#role'] = $role;
+    $form['roles'][$rid]['#weight'] = $role->weight;
+    $form['roles'][$rid]['name'] = array(
+      '#markup' => check_plain($role->label()),
     );
-    $form['roles'][$role->rid]['weight'] = array(
+    $form['roles'][$rid]['weight'] = array(
       '#type' => 'textfield',
-      '#title' => t('Weight for @title', array('@title' => $role->name)),
+      '#title' => t('Weight for @title', array('@title' => $role->label())),
       '#title_display' => 'invisible',
       '#size' => 4,
       '#default_value' => $role->weight,
@@ -857,26 +852,26 @@ function user_admin_roles($form, $form_state) {
     );
     $links['edit'] = array(
       'title' => t('edit role'),
-      'href' => 'admin/people/roles/edit/' . $role->rid,
+      'href' => 'admin/people/roles/edit/' . $rid,
       'weight' => 0,
     );
     $links['permissions'] = array(
       'title' => t('edit permissions'),
-      'href' => 'admin/people/permissions/' . $role->rid,
+      'href' => 'admin/people/permissions/' . $rid,
       'weight' => 5,
     );
-    $form['roles'][$role->rid]['operations'] = array(
+    $form['roles'][$rid]['operations'] = array(
       '#type' => 'operations',
       '#links' => $links,
     );
   }
 
   // Embed the role add form.
-  $add_role = (object) array(
-    'rid' => NULL,
-    'name' => NULL,
+  $add_role = entity_create('user_role', array(
+    'id' => NULL,
+    'label' => NULL,
     'weight' => $max_weight + 1,
-  );
+  ));
   $add_form = user_admin_role(array(), $form_state, $add_role);
   $add_form['actions']['submit']['#submit'] = array('user_admin_role_submit');
   $add_form['role']['actions'] = $add_form['actions'];
@@ -902,7 +897,7 @@ function user_admin_roles_order_submit($form, &$form_state) {
   foreach ($form_state['values']['roles'] as $rid => $role_values) {
     $role = $form['roles'][$rid]['#role'];
     $role->weight = $role_values['weight'];
-    user_role_save($role);
+    $role->save();
   }
   drupal_set_message(t('The role settings have been updated.'));
 }
@@ -956,32 +951,32 @@ function theme_user_admin_roles($variables) {
  *
  * @ingroup forms
  * @see user_admin_role_submit()
+ * @todo Move into a RoleFormController.
  */
 function user_admin_role($form, $form_state, $role) {
   $form['role'] = array(
     '#tree' => TRUE,
     '#parents' => array('role'),
   );
-
-  $form['role']['name'] = array(
+  $form['role']['label'] = array(
     '#type' => 'textfield',
     '#title' => t('Role name'),
-    '#default_value' => $role->name,
+    '#default_value' => $role->label(),
     '#size' => 30,
     '#required' => TRUE,
     '#maxlength' => 64,
     '#description' => t('The name for this role. Example: "Moderator", "Editorial board", "Site architect".'),
   );
-  $form['role']['rid'] = array(
+  $form['role']['id'] = array(
     '#type' => 'machine_name',
-    '#default_value' => $role->rid,
+    '#default_value' => $role->id(),
     '#required' => TRUE,
-    '#disabled' => !empty($role->rid),
+    '#disabled' => !$role->isNew(),
     '#size' => 30,
     '#maxlength' => 64,
     '#machine_name' => array(
       'exists' => 'user_role_load',
-      'source' => array('role', 'name'),
+      'source' => array('role', 'label'),
     ),
   );
   $form['role']['weight'] = array(
@@ -991,12 +986,12 @@ function user_admin_role($form, $form_state, $role) {
   $form['actions'] = array('#type' => 'actions');
   $form['actions']['submit'] = array(
     '#type' => 'submit',
-    '#value' => !empty($role->rid) ? t('Save role') : t('Add role'),
+    '#value' => !$role->isNew() ? t('Save role') : t('Add role'),
   );
   $form['actions']['delete'] = array(
     '#type' => 'submit',
     '#value' => t('Delete role'),
-    '#access' => !empty($role->rid) && !in_array($role->rid, array(DRUPAL_ANONYMOUS_RID, DRUPAL_AUTHENTICATED_RID)),
+    '#access' => !$role->isNew() && !in_array($role->id(), array(DRUPAL_ANONYMOUS_RID, DRUPAL_AUTHENTICATED_RID)),
     '#submit' => array('user_admin_role_delete_submit'),
   );
 
@@ -1007,14 +1002,14 @@ function user_admin_role($form, $form_state, $role) {
  * Form submit handler for the user_admin_role() form.
  */
 function user_admin_role_submit($form, &$form_state) {
-  $role = (object) $form_state['values']['role'];
-  $status = user_role_save($role);
-  if ($status === SAVED_UPDATED) {
+  $role = entity_create('user_role', $form_state['values']['role']);
+  if ($role->save() == SAVED_UPDATED) {
     drupal_set_message(t('The role has been renamed.'));
   }
   else {
     drupal_set_message(t('The role has been added.'));
   }
+  ;
   $form_state['redirect'] = 'admin/people/roles';
 }
 
@@ -1022,25 +1017,25 @@ function user_admin_role_submit($form, &$form_state) {
  * Form submit handler for the user_admin_role() form.
  */
 function user_admin_role_delete_submit($form, &$form_state) {
-  $form_state['redirect'] = 'admin/people/roles/delete/' . $form_state['values']['role']['rid'];
+  $form_state['redirect'] = 'admin/people/roles/delete/' . $form_state['values']['role']['id'];
 }
 
 /**
  * Form to confirm role delete operation.
  */
 function user_admin_role_delete_confirm($form, &$form_state, $role) {
-  $form['rid'] = array(
+  $form['id'] = array(
     '#type' => 'value',
-    '#value' => $role->rid,
+    '#value' => $role->id(),
   );
-  return confirm_form($form, t('Are you sure you want to delete the role %name ?', array('%name' => $role->name)), 'admin/people/roles', t('This action cannot be undone.'), t('Delete'));
+  return confirm_form($form, t('Are you sure you want to delete the role %name ?', array('%name' => $role->label())), 'admin/people/roles', t('This action cannot be undone.'), t('Delete'));
 }
 
 /**
  * Form submit handler for user_admin_role_delete_confirm().
  */
 function user_admin_role_delete_confirm_submit($form, &$form_state) {
-  user_role_delete($form_state['values']['rid']);
+  entity_delete_multiple('user_role', array($form_state['values']['id']));
   drupal_set_message(t('The role has been deleted.'));
   $form_state['redirect'] = 'admin/people/roles';
 }
diff --git a/core/modules/user/user.api.php b/core/modules/user/user.api.php
index b5bbbf7..1faed14 100644
--- a/core/modules/user/user.api.php
+++ b/core/modules/user/user.api.php
@@ -426,7 +426,7 @@ function hook_user_role_insert($role) {
   // Save extra fields provided by the module to user roles.
   db_insert('my_module_table')
     ->fields(array(
-      'rid' => $role->rid,
+      'rid' => $role->id(),
       'role_description' => $role->description,
     ))
     ->execute();
@@ -446,7 +446,7 @@ function hook_user_role_insert($role) {
 function hook_user_role_update($role) {
   // Save extra fields provided by the module to user roles.
   db_merge('my_module_table')
-    ->key(array('rid' => $role->rid))
+    ->key(array('rid' => $role->id()))
     ->fields(array(
       'role_description' => $role->description
     ))
@@ -467,7 +467,7 @@ function hook_user_role_update($role) {
 function hook_user_role_delete($role) {
   // Delete existing instances of the deleted role.
   db_delete('my_module_table')
-    ->condition('rid', $role->rid)
+    ->condition('rid', $role->id())
     ->execute();
 }
 
diff --git a/core/modules/user/user.install b/core/modules/user/user.install
index 705a725..2553e17 100644
--- a/core/modules/user/user.install
+++ b/core/modules/user/user.install
@@ -148,39 +148,6 @@ function user_schema() {
     ),
   );
 
-  $schema['role'] = array(
-    'description' => 'Stores user roles.',
-    'fields' => array(
-      'rid' => array(
-        'type' => 'varchar',
-        // The role ID is often used as part of a compound index; at least MySQL
-        // has a maximum index length of 1000 characters (333 on utf8), so we
-        // limit the maximum length.
-        'length' => 64,
-        'not null' => TRUE,
-        'description' => 'Primary Key: Unique role ID.',
-      ),
-      'name' => array(
-        'type' => 'varchar',
-        'length' => 255,
-        'not null' => TRUE,
-        'default' => '',
-        'description' => 'Role label.',
-        'translatable' => TRUE,
-      ),
-      'weight' => array(
-        'type' => 'int',
-        'not null' => TRUE,
-        'default' => 0,
-        'description' => 'The weight of this role in listings and the user interface.',
-      ),
-    ),
-    'primary key' => array('rid'),
-    'indexes' => array(
-      'name_weight' => array('name', 'weight'),
-    ),
-  );
-
   $schema['role_permission'] = array(
     'description' => 'Stores the permissions assigned to user roles.',
     'fields' => array(
@@ -326,13 +293,6 @@ function user_install() {
       'status' => 1,
     ))
     ->execute();
-
-  // Insert built-in roles.
-  db_insert('role')
-    ->fields(array('rid', 'name', 'weight'))
-    ->values(array(DRUPAL_ANONYMOUS_RID, 'Anonymous user', 0))
-    ->values(array(DRUPAL_AUTHENTICATED_RID, 'Authenticated user', 1))
-    ->execute();
 }
 
 /**
@@ -1059,5 +1019,23 @@ function user_update_8016() {
 }
 
 /**
+ * Turn the {role} table into configuration entities.
+ */
+function user_update_8017() {
+  $roles = db_select('role', 'r')
+    ->fields('r')
+    ->execute()
+    ->fetchAll();
+
+  foreach ($roles as $role) {
+    config('user.role.' . $role->rid)
+      ->set('id', $role->rid)
+      ->set('label', $role->name)
+      ->set('weight', $role->weight)
+      ->save();
+  }
+}
+
+/**
  * @} End of "addtogroup updates-7.x-to-8.x".
  */
diff --git a/core/modules/user/user.module b/core/modules/user/user.module
index 1e14a0d..154a8cb 100644
--- a/core/modules/user/user.module
+++ b/core/modules/user/user.module
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 <?php
 
 use Drupal\Core\Database\Query\SelectInterface;
+use Drupal\user\UserRole;
 use Drupal\Core\Entity\EntityInterface;
 use Drupal\file\Plugin\Core\Entity\File;
 use Drupal\Core\Template\Attribute;
@@ -1975,6 +1976,25 @@ function user_mail_tokens(&$replacements, $data, $options) {
  *   An associative array with the role id as the key and the role name as
  *   value.
  */
+function user_role_names($membersonly = FALSE, $permission = NULL) {
+  return array_map(function($item) {
+    return $item->label();
+  }, user_roles($membersonly, $permission));
+}
+
+/**
+ * Retrieve an array of roles matching specified conditions.
+ *
+ * @param $membersonly
+ *   Set this to TRUE to exclude the 'anonymous' role.
+ * @param $permission
+ *   A string containing a permission. If set, only roles containing that
+ *   permission are returned.
+ *
+ * @return
+ *   An associative array with the role id as the key and the role object as
+ *   value.
+ */
 function user_roles($membersonly = FALSE, $permission = NULL) {
   $user_roles = &drupal_static(__FUNCTION__);
 
@@ -1987,23 +2007,22 @@ function user_roles($membersonly = FALSE, $permission = NULL) {
     }
   }
 
-  $query = db_select('role', 'r');
-  $query->addTag('translatable');
-  $query->fields('r', array('rid', 'name'));
-  $query->orderBy('weight');
-  $query->orderBy('name');
-  if (!empty($permission)) {
-    $query->innerJoin('role_permission', 'p', 'r.rid = p.rid');
-    $query->condition('p.permission', $permission);
-  }
+  $roles = entity_load_multiple('user_role');
   if ($membersonly) {
-    $query->condition('r.rid', DRUPAL_ANONYMOUS_RID, '!=');
+    unset($roles[DRUPAL_ANONYMOUS_RID]);
+  }
+
+  if (!empty($permission)) {
+    $result = db_select('role_permission', 'p')
+      ->fields('p', array('rid'))
+      ->condition('p.rid', array_keys($roles))
+      ->condition('p.permission', $permission)
+      ->execute()->fetchCol();
+    $roles = array_intersect_key($roles, array_flip($result));
   }
-  $roles = $query->execute()->fetchAllKeyed();
 
   if (empty($permission)) {
     $user_roles[$cid] = $roles;
-    return $user_roles[$cid];
   }
 
   return $roles;
@@ -2020,87 +2039,7 @@ function user_roles($membersonly = FALSE, $permission = NULL) {
  *   otherwise.
  */
 function user_role_load($rid) {
-  return db_select('role', 'r')
-    ->fields('r')
-    ->condition('rid', $rid)
-    ->execute()
-    ->fetchObject();
-}
-
-/**
- * Save a user role to the database.
- *
- * @param $role
- *   A role object to modify or add.
- *
- * @return
- *   Status constant indicating if role was created or updated.
- *   Failure to write the user role record will return FALSE. Otherwise
- *   SAVED_NEW or SAVED_UPDATED is returned depending on the operation
- *   performed.
- */
-function user_role_save($role) {
-  if ($role->name) {
-    // Prevent leading and trailing spaces in role names.
-    $role->name = trim($role->name);
-  }
-  if (!isset($role->weight)) {
-    // Set a role weight to make this new role last.
-    $query = db_select('role');
-    $query->addExpression('MAX(weight)');
-    $role->weight = $query->execute()->fetchField() + 1;
-  }
-
-  // Let modules modify the user role before it is saved to the database.
-  module_invoke_all('user_role_presave', $role);
-
-  $exists = db_select('role', 'r')
-    ->fields('r', array('rid'))
-    ->condition('rid', $role->rid)
-    ->execute()
-    ->fetchAll();
-
-  if (empty($exists)) {
-    $status = drupal_write_record('role', $role);
-    module_invoke_all('user_role_insert', $role);
-  }
-  else {
-    $status = drupal_write_record('role', $role, 'rid');
-    module_invoke_all('user_role_update', $role);
-  }
-
-  // Clear the user access cache.
-  drupal_static_reset('user_access');
-  drupal_static_reset('user_role_permissions');
-
-  return $status;
-}
-
-/**
- * Delete a user role from database.
- *
- * @param $role
- *   A string with the role ID.
- */
-function user_role_delete($role) {
-  $role = user_role_load($role);
-
-  db_delete('role')
-    ->condition('rid', $role->rid)
-    ->execute();
-  db_delete('role_permission')
-    ->condition('rid', $role->rid)
-    ->execute();
-  // Update the users who have this role set:
-  db_delete('users_roles')
-    ->condition('rid', $role->rid)
-    ->execute();
-
-  module_invoke_all('user_role_delete', $role);
-
-  // Clear the user access cache.
-  drupal_static_reset('user_access');
-  drupal_static_reset('user_role_permissions');
+  return entity_load('user_role', $rid);
 }
 
 /**
@@ -2108,7 +2047,7 @@ function user_role_delete($role) {
  */
 function user_role_delete_access($role) {
   // Prevent the system-defined roles from being removed.
-  if ($role->rid == DRUPAL_ANONYMOUS_RID || $role->rid == DRUPAL_AUTHENTICATED_RID) {
+  if ($role->id() == DRUPAL_ANONYMOUS_RID || $role->id() == DRUPAL_AUTHENTICATED_RID) {
     return FALSE;
   }
 
@@ -2247,7 +2186,7 @@ function user_user_operations($form = array(), $form_state = array()) {
   );
 
   if (user_access('administer permissions')) {
-    $roles = user_roles(TRUE);
+    $roles = user_role_names(TRUE);
     unset($roles[DRUPAL_AUTHENTICATED_RID]);  // Can't edit authenticated role.
 
     $add_roles = array();
@@ -2332,7 +2271,7 @@ function user_user_operations_block($accounts) {
  * Callback function for admin mass adding/deleting a user role.
  */
 function user_multiple_role_edit($accounts, $operation, $rid) {
-  $role_name = db_query('SELECT name FROM {role} WHERE rid = :rid', array(':rid' => $rid))->fetchField();
+  $role_name = entity_load('user_role', $rid)->label();
 
   switch ($operation) {
     case 'add_role':
@@ -2464,7 +2403,7 @@ function user_multiple_cancel_confirm_submit($form, &$form_state) {
 function user_filters() {
   // Regular filters
   $filters = array();
-  $roles = user_roles(TRUE);
+  $roles = user_role_names(TRUE);
   unset($roles[DRUPAL_AUTHENTICATED_RID]); // Don't list authorized role.
   if (count($roles)) {
     $filters['role'] = array(
diff --git a/core/modules/user/user.views.inc b/core/modules/user/user.views.inc
index 9264381..868c3ab 100644
--- a/core/modules/user/user.views.inc
+++ b/core/modules/user/user.views.inc
@@ -351,22 +351,6 @@ function user_views_data() {
     ),
   );
 
-  // role table
-
-  $data['role']['table']['join'] = array(
-     // Directly links to users table.
-    'users' => array(
-      'left_table' => 'users_roles',
-      'left_field' => 'rid',
-      'field' => 'rid',
-    ),
-    // needed for many to one helper sometimes
-    'users_roles' => array(
-      'left_field' => 'rid',
-      'field' => 'rid',
-    ),
-  );
-
   // permission table
   $data['role_permission']['table']['group']  = t('User');
   $data['role_permission']['table']['join'] = array(
diff --git a/core/modules/views/lib/Drupal/views/Plugin/views/filter/FilterPluginBase.php b/core/modules/views/lib/Drupal/views/Plugin/views/filter/FilterPluginBase.php
index c7771c0..f85ea98 100644
--- a/core/modules/views/lib/Drupal/views/Plugin/views/filter/FilterPluginBase.php
+++ b/core/modules/views/lib/Drupal/views/Plugin/views/filter/FilterPluginBase.php
@@ -551,7 +551,7 @@ public function buildExposeForm(&$form, &$form_state) {
       '#default_value' => $this->options['expose']['remember'],
     );
 
-    $role_options = array_map('check_plain', user_roles());
+    $role_options = array_map('check_plain', user_role_names());
     $form['expose']['remember_roles'] = array(
       '#type' => 'checkboxes',
       '#title' => t('User roles'),
diff --git a/core/profiles/standard/standard.install b/core/profiles/standard/standard.install
index 48da6b1..6a574a0 100644
--- a/core/profiles/standard/standard.install
+++ b/core/profiles/standard/standard.install
@@ -387,18 +387,19 @@ function standard_install() {
   user_role_grant_permissions(DRUPAL_AUTHENTICATED_RID, array('access content', 'access comments', 'post comments', 'skip comment approval', $filtered_html_permission));
 
   // Create a default role for site administrators, with all available permissions assigned.
-  $admin_role = new stdClass();
-  $admin_role->rid = 'administrator';
-  $admin_role->name = 'Administrator';
-  $admin_role->weight = 2;
-  user_role_save($admin_role);
-  user_role_grant_permissions($admin_role->rid, array_keys(module_invoke_all('permission')));
+  $admin_role = entity_create('user_role', array(
+    'id' => 'administrator',
+    'label' => 'Administrator',
+    'weight' => 2,
+  ));
+  $admin_role->save();
+  user_role_grant_permissions($admin_role->id(), array_keys(module_invoke_all('permission')));
   // Set this as the administrator role.
-  $user_settings->set('admin_role', $admin_role->rid)->save();
+  $user_settings->set('admin_role', $admin_role->id())->save();
 
   // Assign user 1 the "administrator" role.
   db_insert('users_roles')
-    ->fields(array('uid' => 1, 'rid' => $admin_role->rid))
+    ->fields(array('uid' => 1, 'rid' => $admin_role->id()))
     ->execute();
 
   // Create a Home link in the main menu.