The High Council is presided over by the Chancellor, and is composed of a loosely faction-based, informal cabinet. Prominent members are generally leaders of one of the various Houses of the Empire – most of the seats are hereditary and some are conferred on distinguished figures, as with the House of Lords, the exact number of council members is not known. The Chancellor sits in an elevated chair at the front of the room, and the other council members surround him in a semicircle. A large Klingon insignia hangs on the wall at the front of the room, which is located behind the council members.