The Cabildo de Gran Canaria (Council of Gran Canaria) is an administrative and legislative body that was first formed in 1913 under the Ley de Cabildos (Councils Act) passed the previous year in the Kingdom of Spain. Such councils were an instrument of governance used by the old regime in both the Canary Islands and the Americas. During the dictatorship of Francisco Franco members of the Cabildo were appointed by the government, and its functions were limited to administration, focusing on such matters as public health and welfare and roads. With the restoration of democracy in the 1970s, members of the Cabildo were elected by direct universal suffrage, with the head of the party list receiving the most votes becoming the president of the Cabildo. The powers of the Cabildo were also extended to encompass tourism, the environment, culture, sports, industry, transportation, irrigation and water supply, urban and rural planning, and other areas. This devolution of powers was strengthened in the 1990s with the increased regional autonomy granted to the Canary Islands. Presented here is the meeting minutes of the first plenary session of the Cabildo of Gran Canaria, dated March 16, 1913. It is a formal public document, recorded in the first number of the book of minutes kept by the secretary of the Cabildo. The document is in the collections of the General Archive of the Cabildo.