The House of Assembly of the British Virgin Islands, until 2007 known as the Legislative Council, has 15 members: 13 directly elected for four-year terms (nine in single-seat constituencies and four "at large"), and two ex officio members (the Attorney General and a Speaker chosen from outside the house). Sittings of the House of Assembly are divided into "terms" with each term following from a general election. The House of Assembly is presently sitting its fourth term, but the first term of the House of Assembly followed the 15th term of the old Legislative Council. Accordingly, in aggregate the legislature is sitting its 19th term since the restoration of democracy in the Territory. Each term has a series of "sittings". At the end of each sitting the House is either prorogued until the next sitting, or dissolved for a general election. The Corine George-Massicote was elected Speaker of the House on 26 May 2022. The official record is Hansard. Latest elections History The history of legislatures in the British Virgin Islands can be roughly divided into two: colonial legislatures in the 18th and 19th centuries, and then a hiatus, followed by the modern legislature after the re-introduction of democracy in 1950. Colonial legislatures There was no attempt to impose any form of local legislature prior to the British taking control of the islands in 1672. But in 1735 the Governor of the Leeward Islands, William Matthew, sought to establish executive councils and legislative assemblies in Virgin Gorda and Tortola. The assemblies were to consist of nine members, elected by the free inhabitants of the islands. After the elections, it was determined that the governor had no such power and therefore the assemblies were ultra vires and were never called into session (although the councils did take up their duties). During the 18th and 19th centuries the British Virgin Islands had a number of legislative councils, but these proved to be largely ineffective, and the last one was formally dissolved in 1901. Between 1747 and 1754 Lieutenant Governor James Purcell pressed for some form of formal government in the British Virgin Islands, but in this he was rebuffed by Governor George Thomas. But by 1773 the new Leeward Islands Governor, Sir Ralph Payne, was instructed to introduce a system of representative government in the Virgin Islands, consisting of a governor, an appointed council, and an elected assembly. On 30 November 1773