Overview and composition

1843

The Legislative Council ("LegCo") was established with a composition of three Official Members and the Governor as the President.

1844

The earliest LegCo sitting was held.

1845

The first Standing Rules and Orders for the Legislative Council of Hong Kong was adopted in pursuance of Article 6 of the Royal Instructions of 1843.

1850

The first two Unofficial Members were appointed.

1875

The first official Chinese name of LegCo, "定例局", was published in the Gazette. It is not known when the Chinese name was changed to "立法局".

1880

The first Chinese Unofficial Member was appointed.

1939 - 1945

Second World War.

1941 - 1946

LegCo sitting was adjourned sine die (until further notice) during the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong.

1946

LegCo resumed and held its first post-war sitting in May.
Composition of LegCo during this period:

	1947	1951	1964
Total No. of Members	16	18	26
Official Members	9	10	13
Unofficial Members	7	8	13

1964

The number of Official Members and that of Unofficial Members were equal for the first time. The total membership of LegCo continued to grow.

1984

For the first time, the maximum number of Unofficial Members allowed (32) exceeded that of Official Members (29).

1984

The Sino-British Joint Declaration was signed.

1985

The first indirect election was held to return 24 out of the 57 Members of LegCo.

1990

The Basic Law was promulgated.

1991

The first direct election was held to return 18 out of the 61 Members of LegCo from nine geographical constituencies under a one-person-one-vote system.

1993

The Governor ceased to be the President of LegCo, and the presidency was handed over to Sir John Swaine, who was elected by and from among Unofficial Members.

1995

A LegCo was formed with 60 fully-elected Members.

1996

The Provisional LegCo was established in December, with all its 60 Members elected by a 400-member Selection Committee for the First Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region ("HKSAR").

1997

Reunification of Hong Kong.

The Provisional LegCo held a meeting immediately after the handover ceremony on 1 July to pass the Hong Kong Reunification Bill. The Chinese name of LegCo was changed from "立法局" to "立法會" but the English name remained unchanged.

In September, the Provisional LegCo passed the Legislative Council Bill, which provided for the constitution, convening and dissolution of LegCo, to enable the first LegCo to be established.

1998

The First LegCo of the HKSAR was established and its first meeting was held on 2 July. The term of office of Members was two years.

2000

The term of office of Members was four years from the Second LegCo onwards.

2005

The constitutional reform package put forward by the Government to expand LegCo membership in 2008 failed to obtain the endorsement of LegCo in December.
Composition of LegCo during this period:

	1998	2000	2004	2008
Total No. of Members	60	60	60	60
Members returned by  functional constituencies	30	30	30	30
Members returned by  geographical constituencies	20	24	30	30
Members returned by  Election Committee	10	6	--	--

2010

In April, a new constitutional reform package proposing an increase of Members from 60 to 70 for the Fifth LegCo was presented by the Government to LegCo. It was endorsed by LegCo in June.

2012

The Fifth LegCo was established with a composition of 70 Members. Of the 10 new seats, five were returned by geographical constituencies and five by a new "District Council (Second)" functional constituency.

2015

The constitutional reform package put forward by the Government to amend the method for the selection of the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region failed to obtain the endorsement of LegCo in June.

2016

The Sixth LegCo is established with a composition of 70 Members. The sixth term commenced on 1 October 2016 and was to end on 30 September 2020.

2020

In July, the general election for the Seventh LegCo, originally scheduled for 6 September 2020, was postponed by the Government for one year to 5 September 2021, having regard to the severe COVID-19 epidemic situation.

In August, it was decided by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress ("NPCSC") that after 30 September 2020, the Sixth LegCo would continue to discharge duties for not less than one year until the seventh term of office of the LegCo begins.

2021

Subsequent to the passage of the Decision on Improving the Electoral System of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and authorization by the National People's Congress in March, NPCSC adopted the amended Annexes I and II to the Basic Law, which set out in detail the new methods for selecting the Chief Executive and forming LegCo in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

In accordance with the amendments, the Improving Electoral System (Consolidated Amendments) Bill 2021 was introduced into LegCo in April and was passed as an Ordinance. Under the Ordinance, the general election of the seventh term of LegCo was changed from 5 September to 19 December 2021. The membership of the seventh term of LegCo will increase from 70 to 90.

2022

The Seventh LegCo is established with a composition of 90 Members.
Composition of LegCo today:

	2022
Total No. of Members	90
Members returned by  the Election Committee	40
Members returned by  functional constituencies	30
Members returned by  geographical constituencies	20