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This is a list of presidents of the Senate of Belize. The president of the Senate is either elected from among the appointed members, or from outside the Senate.
Name | Entered office | Left office | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Hon. Ewart W. Francis | 12 March 1965 | 3 October 1974 | [1] |
Hon. Elito Omar Urbina | 8 November 1974 | 27 July 1979 | [1] |
Hon. George Osmond Dakers | 30 November 1979 | 21 March 1980 | [1] |
Hon. William Coffin | 23 May 1980 | December 1983 | [1] |
Hon. Gadsby Ramos | 24 January 1984 | 9 November 1984 | [1] [2] |
Hon. Doris June Garcia | 21 December 1984 | 31 July 1989 | [1] [3] |
Hon. Jane Ellen Usher | 15 September 1989 | 1 June 1993 | [1] [3] |
Hon. Edward Flowers | 16 July 1993 | 13 July 1998 | [1] |
Hon. Elizabeth Zabaneh | 12 September 1998 | July 2001 | [1] [3] |
Hon. Sylvia Flores | 14 August 2001 | 4 February 2003 | [1] [3] |
Hon. Philip Zuniga | 4 April 2003 | 7 January 2008 | [1] |
Hon. Andrea Gill | 14 March 2008 | 3 February 2012 | [1] |
Hon. Marco Pech | 21 March 2012 | September 2015 | [1] |
Hon. Lee Mark Chang | 9 November 2015 | 21 April 2019 | [1] |
Hon. Darrell Bradley | 26 June 2019 | 11 December 2020 | [1] |
Hon. Carolyn Trench-Sandiford | 11 December 2020 | Incumbent | [4] |
Politics of Belize takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic monarchy, whereby King Charles III serves as head of state and the prime minister is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Parliament of Belize.
President of the Senate is a title often given to the presiding officer of a senate. It corresponds to the speaker in some other assemblies.
In the United States, a recess appointment is an appointment by the president of a federal official when the U.S. Senate is in recess. Under the U.S. Constitution's Appointments Clause, the President is empowered to nominate, and with the advice and consent (confirmation) of the Senate, make appointments to high-level policy-making positions in federal departments, agencies, boards, and commissions, as well as to the federal judiciary. A recess appointment under Article II, Section 2, Clause 3 of the Constitution is an alternative method of appointing officials that allows the temporary filling of offices during periods when the Senate is not in session. It was anticipated that the Senate would be away for months at a time, so the ability to fill vacancies in important positions when the Senate is in recess and unavailable to provide advice and consent was deemed essential to maintain government function, as described by Alexander Hamilton in No. 67 of The Federalist Papers.
The 79th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1945, to January 3, 1947, during the last months of Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidency, and the first two years of Harry Truman's presidency. The apportionment of seats in this House of Representatives was based on the Sixteenth Census of the United States in 1940.
The National Assembly is the bicameral legislature of the nation of Belize. It is divided into the House of Representatives, with 31 members, elected by universal suffrage, and the Senate, with 13 members, appointed by the Governor-General in consultation with the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition. The presiding officer of the House is the Speaker, while the Senate is presided over by the President.
The Standing Rules of the Senate are the parliamentary procedures adopted by the United States Senate that govern its procedure. The Senate's power to establish rules derives from Article One, Section 5 of the United States Constitution: "Each House may determine the rules of its proceedings ..."
An executive session is a term for any block within an otherwise open meeting in which minutes are taken separately or not at all, outsiders are not present, and the contents of the discussion are treated as confidential. In a deliberative assembly, an executive session has come to mean that the proceedings are secret and members could be punished for violating the secrecy.
The Senate is one of the chambers of the National Assembly of Belize. It has 13 members appointed for a five-year term by the Governor General of Belize.
The 4th Congress of the Philippines, composed of the Philippine Senate and House of Representatives, met from January 27, 1958, until December 13, 1961, during the second term of President Carlos P. Garcia.
The 5th Congress of the Philippines, composed of the Philippine Senate and House of Representatives, met from January 22, 1962, until December 17, 1965, during the presidency of Diosdado Macapagal.
The 12th Congress of the Philippines, composed of the Philippine Senate and House of Representatives, met from July 23, 2001, until June 4, 2004, during the first three years of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's presidency. The convening of the 12th Congress followed the 2001 general elections, which replaced half of the Senate membership, and the entire membership of the House of Representatives.
The 9th Congress of the Philippines, composed of the Philippine Senate and House of Representatives, met from July 27, 1992, until June 9, 1995, during the first three years of Fidel Ramos's presidency. The convening of the 9th Congress follows the 1992 national elections, where, under the transitory provisions of the Constitution, the first 12 senators who garnered the highest votes would have a six-year term while the next 12 senators would have a three-year term and the entire membership of the House of Representatives was replaced.
The 10th Congress of the Philippines, composed of the Philippine Senate and House of Representatives, met from July 24, 1995, until June 5, 1998, during the last three years of Fidel Ramos's presidency. The convening of the 10th Congress followed the 1995 national elections, which replaced half of the Senate membership, and the entire membership of the House of Representatives.
The president of the Senate of the Philippines, commonly known as the Senate president, is the presiding officer and the highest-ranking official of the Senate of the Philippines, and third highest and most powerful official in the government of the Philippines. They are elected by the entire body to be their leader. The Senate president is second in the line of succession to the presidency, behind only the vice president and ahead of the speaker of the House of Representatives.
A constitutional referendum, the nation's first, was held in Belize on 7 February 2008, coinciding with the 2008 general elections.
His Majesty's Government in Belize, also referred to as the Belizean Government is the democratic administrative authority of Belize, a constitutional monarchy under a parliamentary democracy. It was formed in 1981 after gaining sovereignty from the United Kingdom. The constitution is the supreme law of Belize.
A lame-duck session of Congress in the United States occurs whenever one Congress meets after its successor is elected, but before the successor's term begins. The expression is now used not only for a special session called after a sine die adjournment, but also for any portion of a regular session that falls after an election. In current practice, any meeting of Congress after election day, but before the next Congress convenes the following January, is a lame-duck session. Prior to 1933, when the 20th Amendment changed the dates of the congressional term, the last regular session of Congress was always a lame duck session.
Carolyn Trench-Sandiford is a Belizean urban planner and politician who has served as Speaker of the country's Senate since December 2020.
Payal Ghanwani is a Belizean attorney who served as a Senator from 10 March 2020 to 11 December 2020. She is the first Indo-Belizean Senator.