The Legislative Council of Southern Rhodesia was the inaugural governing body for the British South Africa Company (BSAC) territory of Southern Rhodesia (today Zimbabwe) before its replacement by the Southern Rhodesian Legislative Assembly in 1923, when the country achieved responsible government, and duly became a self-governing colony within the British Empire.
Initially, the Council consisted of four elected members and five members nominated by the British South Africa Company, with the BSAC administrator presiding (and who also holding the right of veto over any legislation).
[2] Additionally, a British resident commissioner sat on the Council as a non-voting member.
[3] Qualifications for members and franchise were set by the commissioner, who required voters to be British subjects, male, 21 years of age and older, able to write their address and occupation, and then to fulfil any one of the following financial requirements: All voters were entered onto a common roll.
[3] The main issue debated in the Legislative Council by the 1910s was the future of Southern Rhodesia following the planned end of BSAC rule.