President of the Chamber of Deputies (Italy)

Last updated
President of the
Chamber of Deputies
Presidente della Camera dei deputati
Lorenzo Fontana 2022 (cropped).jpg
Incumbent
Lorenzo Fontana
since 14 October 2022
Style
Seat Palazzo Montecitorio
Appointer Chamber of Deputies
Inaugural holder Urbano Rattazzi
Formation17 March 1861
Website www.camera.it

The president of the Chamber of Deputies (Italian : presidente della Camera dei deputati) is the speaker of the lower house of the Italian Parliament, the Chamber of Deputies. It is the third highest-ranking office of the Italian Republic, after the president of the Republic and the president of the Senate. Since 14 October 2022, the role has been held by Lorenzo Fontana.

Contents

Role

The main function of the president is to ensure that the Chamber of Deputies functions correctly, to guarantee the application of the chamber's rules of procedure, and oversee the proper functioning of its administrative apparatus. The President represents the chamber externally. In the house, the president judges the admissibility of evidence, maintains order and directs the discussion. When a bill is proposed in the chamber, the president decides which permanent committee to allocate it to for development (unless the decision is opposed by a parliamentary group leader or a tenth of the deputies, in which case the allocation is decided by a vote of the chamber).

The task of directing sessions of the chamber belongs to the President. To accomplish this, the President can undertake the following disciplinary actions under article 58ff. of the chamber's regulations: calling a deputy to order, ordering a deputy to leave the chamber, and in serious cases, censuring a deputy and suspending them from the chamber for two to fifteen days.

According to article 55 of the Italian Constitution, the President of the Chamber of Deputies presides over joint sessions of the Italian Parliament (which occur only certain circumstances defined by the constitution: electing the President of the Republic and various groups of judges, and impeaching the president). The President of the Chamber of Deputies must also be consulted by the President of the Republic before the dissolution of Parliament (along with the President of the Senate), according to article 88 of the Constitution.

It is the President of the Chamber of Deputies' job to announce call a joint session of Parliament to elect the President of the Republic, thirty days before the deadline (article 85) or fifteen days after the death or dismissal of the previous President of the Republic (article 86).

Appointments

Along with the President of the Senate, the President of the Chamber of Deputies appoints the members of some important administrative authorities (like the Antitrust Authority), the administrative council of the National Broadcasting Service, and the presiding council of the Court of Audit.

These posts are appointed by the Presidents of the two houses of Parliament because the way that they are elected tends to ensure that they are impartial consensus figures chosen by both the government and at least part of the opposition.

Selection

The President of the Chamber of Deputies is elected by a secret ballot. The chamber's regulations state that the president must be elected by two-thirds of the members of the chamber in the first ballot, or if that fails by a two-thirds majority of voting members of the chamber (excluding abstentions, but including blank ballots) in the second and third ballots, or if that fails by an absolute majority of voting members of the chamber. [1] This election is presided over by one of the vice-presidents of the Chamber of Deputies elected in the previous legislature - whoever was elected first. If no vice-presidents of the previous legislature are present, then the role falls to the vice-presidents of the legislature before that. If none of those are present, then the role falls to the oldest member of the chamber. [2]

Opposition Presidents

From 1976 until 1994, it became conventional for a leader of the largest opposition party to be appointed President of the Chamber of Deputies. The practice began in the context of the Historic Compromise, which saw the main opposition party (the Italian Communist Party) support the government of Giulio Andreotti in exchange for the election of Pietro Ingrao as President of the Chamber of Deputies.

Subsequently, the position was held by another Communist, Nilde Iotti (the first woman to hold the role) from 1979 until 1992. She was succeeded for only a month by Oscar Luigi Scalfaro of the Christian Democracy party, and when he was elected President of the Republic another Communist party member became President of the Chamber, Giorgio Napolitano, who presided over the chamber from 1992 until 1994.

The parliamentary regulations of 1971, in addition to increasing the importance of parliamentary groups also gave the President of the Chamber of Deputies a high symbolic profile. [3] [4] This encouraged a new model of the presidency with a strong legitimate role and wide institutional recognition, which provided the theoretical justification for Ingrao's election. The President of the Chamber had to be a "man of the Constitution", separate from the parliamentary majority and politically neutral (it is not by chance that various Presidents of the Chamber have subsequently been chosen as Presidents of the Republic). The frequent meetings of the President of the Republic and the President of the Chamber of Deputies during the delicate transition of 1992 reflect the development of the role over the preceding two decades. However, this model was never institutionalised and declined with the creation of the majoritarian electoral law, which clashed with consociationalism. [5] [6]

From the first government of Silvio Berlusconi onwards, it became normal for the Presidency of the Chamber of Deputies (and of the Senate) to be given to members of the governing coalition. A change is indicated by the career of Gianfranco Fini, who was elected President of the Chamber of Deputies in 2008 as part of the PdL-Lega Nord coalition, then passed into opposition after the establishment of the Future and Freedom government, and then supported the subsequent Monti Cabinet. In 2013, Laura Boldrini was elected President of the Chamber of Deputies from the centre-left PD-SEL coalition, which had a majority in the chamber at the time; Boldrini continued to stay in office until 2018, although her party (SEL) has been in opposition since 2014.

Living former presidents of the Chamber of Deputies

As of 27 December 2023, there are seven living former presidents of the Chamber of Deputies.

See also

Related Research Articles

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Speaker (politics)</span> Presiding officer of a legislative body

The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Senate of the Republic (Italy)</span> Upper house of the Italian Parliament

The Senate of the Republic, or simply the Senate, is the upper house of the bicameral Italian Parliament. The two houses together form a perfect bicameral system, meaning they perform identical functions, but do so separately. Pursuant to the Articles 57, 58, and 59 of the Italian Constitution, the Senate has 200 elective members, of which 196 are elected from Italian constituencies, and 4 from Italian citizens living abroad. Furthermore, there is a small number of senators for life, either appointed or ex officio. It was established in its current form on 8 May 1948, but previously existed during the Kingdom of Italy as Senato del Regno, itself a continuation of the Senato Subalpino of Sardinia established on 8 May 1848. Members of the Senate are styled Senator or The Honourable Senator and they meet at Palazzo Madama, Rome.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chamber of Deputies (Italy)</span> Lower house of the Italian Parliament

The Chamber of Deputies is the lower house of the bicameral Italian Parliament. The two houses together form a perfect bicameral system, meaning they perform identical functions, but do so separately. The Chamber of Deputies has 400 seats, of which 392 will be elected from Italian constituencies, and 8 from Italian citizens living abroad. Deputies are styled The Honourable and meet at Palazzo Montecitorio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Italian Parliament</span> Legislature of Italy

The Italian Parliament is the national parliament of the Italian Republic. It is the representative body of Italian citizens and is the successor to the Parliament of the Kingdom of Sardinia (1848–1861), the Parliament of the Kingdom of Italy (1861–1943), the transitional National Council (1945–1946) and the Constituent Assembly (1946–1948). It is a bicameral legislature with 600 elected members and a small number of unelected members. The Italian Parliament is composed of the Chamber of Deputies, as well as the Senate of the Republic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">President of Italy</span> Head of state of Italy

The president of Italy, officially titled President of the Italian Republic, is the head of state of Italy. In that role, the president represents national unity, and guarantees that Italian politics comply with the Constitution. The president is the commander-in-chief of the Italian Armed Forces and chairs the High Council of the Judiciary. A president's term of office lasts for seven years. The incumbent president is former constitutional judge Sergio Mattarella, who was elected on 31 January 2015, and re-elected on 29 January 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1992 Italian presidential election</span> Election of the President of the Italian Republic

The 1992 Italian presidential election was held in Italy on 13–25 May 1992, following the resignation of President Francesco Cossiga on 28 April 1992.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2013 Italian presidential election</span> Election of the President of the Italian Republic

The 2013 Italian presidential election was held in Italy on 18–20 April 2013. The result was the re-election of Giorgio Napolitano, the first time a president had been elected for a second term.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laura Boldrini</span> Italian politician

Laura Boldrini, is an Italian politician and former United Nations official, who served as President of the Chamber of Deputies of Italy. Previously she served as Spokesperson to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for Southern Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 Italian presidential election</span> Election of the President of the Italian Republic

The 2015 Italian presidential election was held on 29–31 January, following the resignation of President Giorgio Napolitano on 14 January 2015. The office was held at the time of the election by Senate President Pietro Grasso in an acting capacity. Only members of Italian Parliament and regional delegates are entitled to vote. As head of state of the Italian Republic, the President has a role of representation of national unity and guarantees that Italian politics comply with the Italian Constitution, in the framework of a parliamentary system.

The mixed group is a parliamentary group active in both houses of the Italian Parliament, the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. The groups comprise all the deputies and the senators, respectively, who are not members of any other parliamentary group. For them, membership of the Mixed Groups is the default option.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1978 Italian presidential election</span> Election of the President of the Italian Republic

The 1978 Italian presidential election was held in Italy between 29 June and 8 July 1978, following the resignation of incumbent President Giovanni Leone on 15 June 1978 because of the Lockheed bribery scandals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1971 Italian presidential election</span> Election of the President of the Italian Republic

The 1971 Italian presidential election was held in Italy on 9–24 December 1971.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1964 Italian presidential election</span> Election of the President of the Italian Republic

The 1964 Italian presidential election was held in Italy from 16 to 28 December 1964, following the resignation of President Antonio Segni on 6 December 1964 due to health problems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1948 Italian presidential election</span> Election of the President of the Italian Republic

The 1948 Italian presidential election was held in Italy on 10–11 May 1948. Luigi Einaudi, governor of the Bank of Italy and member of the Liberal Party, was elected as the new President of Italy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">President of the Senate of the Republic (Italy)</span>

The president of the Senate of the Republic is the presiding officer of the Italian Senate. The President of the Senate is the second highest-ranking office of the Italian Republic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Free and Equal (Italy)</span> Political party in Italy

Free and Equal was a left-wing electoral list and parliamentary group in the Chamber of Deputies and a sub-group in the Senate, the two houses of the Italian Parliament. LeU was launched on 3 December 2017 as a federation of political parties including Article 1, Italian Left and Possible. The leader of the alliance for the 2018 general election was Pietro Grasso, former President of the Senate and former anti-Mafia prosecutor. The three founding parties left the alliance in late 2018, but LeU continued to exist in Parliament. Following the 2021 Italian government crisis, LeU had a single minister, Roberto Speranza, in the national unity government of Prime Minister Mario Draghi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Valeria Fedeli</span> Italian politician

Valeria Fedeli is an Italian politician, former Minister of Education, Universities and Research in the Gentiloni Cabinet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Legislature XIX of Italy</span>

The Legislature XIX of Italian Republic is the current legislature of the Italian Parliament, which started on 13 October 2022.

References

  1. ↑ Regulations of the Chamber, Art.4.2. Il Regolamento della Camera
  2. ↑ Regulations of the Chamber, Art.2. Regolamento della Camera
  3. ↑ A. Sciortino, Il presidente di Assemblea Parlamentare, Giappichelli (2002)
  4. ↑ M. Iacometti, I presidenti di assemblea parlamentare Milano, Giuffrè, 2001
  5. ↑ Vincenzo Lippolis, Le metamorfosi dei Presidenti delle Camere, Associazione Italiana dei Costituzionalisti, "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-03-04. Retrieved 2014-02-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. ↑ Alessandro Capelli, Alcune riflessioni sull'imparzialità del Presidente di assemblea parlamentare,Forum di Quaderni Costituzionali, "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-03-03. Retrieved 2014-02-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

Bibliography

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.