Wiltshire County Council elections were first held on 23 January 1889, with the election of the first Wiltshire County Council. Thereafter, elections were held every three years, with all members being elected on the same day. Later, the cycle was changed to one election in every four years, and the last such election was in 2005. There were also occasional by-elections, the last of which took place in February 2008. On 1 April 2009, the county council and the four Wiltshire district councils were merged into the new unitary Wiltshire Council.