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. [1] [2]
| Speaker | |
|---|---|
| Legislative Body | |
| Status | Presiding Officer |
| Member of | Legislative Body |
| Formation | 1377 |
The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerford in the Parliament of England. [3] [4]
The speaker's official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the powers to discipline members who break the procedures of the chamber or house. The speaker often also represents the body in person, as the voice of the body in ceremonial and some other situations. [5]
A speaker usually presides the lower house. Different styles are employed to refer to those who preside upper houses or Senates.
By convention, speakers are normally addressed in Parliament as 'Mister Speaker' if a man, or 'Madam Speaker' if a woman. In other cultures, other styles are used, mainly being equivalents of English "chairman" or "president". Many bodies also have a speaker pro tempore (or deputy speaker), designated to fill in when the speaker is not available.
The speaker is commonly supported by a 'speaker's office'.
Examples of speakers include:
The president of the National Assembly of Armenia is the speaker of the house in the National Assembly of Armenia. The formation of this position was established on 1 August 1918. [6]
The speaker of the House of Representatives is the presiding officer of the Australian House of Representatives, the lower house of the Parliament of Australia. The president of the Senate is the presiding officer of the Australian Senate, the upper house of the Parliament.
The Federal Constitution determines that both houses of the National Congress, in the first session after taking office, must elect their "Mesas Diretoras" (Presiding Boards), consisting each of a president, two vice presidents, four secretaries and alternates to serve two-year terms, with no reappointment to the same position in the immediately subsequent election. In addition to voting as senator or federal deputy at their respective houses, both presidents also hold the casting vote in case of a tie, but the large number of legislators (81 in the Federal Senate and 513 in the Chamber of Deputies, as of 2023) makes this attribution rarely used.
The president of the Federal Senate is the presiding officer of the Federal Senate, the upper house. The president of the Chamber of Deputies is the presiding officer of the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house. The Constitution also determines that the president of the Federal Senate presides over the Board of the National Congress in the joint sessions of both houses, the Common Regulations of the National Congress refer to the president of the Federal Senate on these occasions as "President of the National Congress". [7]
Following the Brazilian political tradition, the legislative assemblies of the states (Legislative Chamber in the case of the Federal District), all unicameral, adopt rules identical to those of the National Congress, electing a Presiding Board among the state deputies for two-year terms on the first session after taking office.
In Canada, the speaker of the House of Commons (Président de la Chambre des communes) is the individual elected to preside over the House of Commons, the elected lower house. [8] The speaker is a member of parliament (MP) and is elected at the beginning of each new parliament by fellow MPs. The speaker's role in presiding over the House of Commons is similar to that of speakers elsewhere in other countries that use the Westminster system. The speaker does not vote except in the case of a tie. By convention, if required to vote, the speaker will vote in favour of continuing debate on a matter, but will not ultimately vote for a measure to be approved.
The speaker of the Senate (président du Sénat) is the presiding officer of the Senate, the appointed upper house. The speaker represents the Senate at official functions, rules on questions of parliamentary procedure and parliamentary privilege, and presides over debates and voting in the "Red Chamber". The speaker of the Senate is appointed by the governor general from amongst sitting senators upon the advice of the prime minister. The speaker has a vote on all matters. In the event of a tie, the matter fails.
At the provincial level, the presiding officer of the provincial legislatures is called the "speaker" (président) in all provinces except Quebec, where the term "president" is used. The presiding officer fulfills the same role as the speaker of the House of Commons.
The president of the Chamber of Deputies is the highest authority of the Chamber of Deputies. The president of the Senate is the highest authority of the Senate of Chile.
In the People's Republic of China, the chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress is the presiding officer of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, which is considered China's top legislative body. As stipulated in Article 84 of the Constitution of China, should both the president and vice-president become incapacitated, and the National People's Congress is unable to elect a timely replacement, the chairman of the NPC Standing Committee will act as president.
The president of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong is the speaker of the Legislative Council and is elected by and from its members. The president presides over the Council meetings and is empowered to enforce the Rules of Procedures solely.
While members of the Legislative Council may be Hong Kong residents who are not Chinese citizens, the president can only be selected from people with Chinese nationality who do not have a right of abode in foreign countries.
Parliamentarism in Italy is centred on the presidents of the two Houses, vested in defence of the members and of the assembly as a whole; [note 1] so "the Speaker invites the representative of the Government not to deviate from the rules of parliamentary behaviour". [10] Now constitutional community highlights changes also in this role. [11] The president of the Senate also acts as deputy president of the republic "in all cases in which the president cannot perform them". [12]
In New Zealand, the speaker of the House of Representatives is the presiding officer of the New Zealand House of Representatives, [13] the only chamber of the New Zealand Parliament. [14] Precedent set by other Westminster-style parliaments means that members of Parliament must always address the speaker. [15]
In Singapore, the speaker of the Parliament of Singapore is the head officer of the country's legislature. By recent tradition, the prime minister nominates a person, who may or may not be an elected member of parliament (MP), for the role. The person's name is then proposed and seconded by the MPs, before being elected as speaker. [16] The Constitution states that Parliament has the freedom to decide how to elect its speaker. [17]
While the speaker does not have to be an elected MP, they must possess the qualifications to stand for election as an MP as provided for in the Constitution. [18] The speaker also cannot be a cabinet minister or parliamentary secretary, [19] and must resign from those positions prior to being elected as speaker.
The speaker is one of the few public sector roles which allow its office-holder to automatically qualify as a candidate in the Singapore presidential elections. [20]
The president of the Congress of Deputies is the speaker of the Congress of Deputies, the lower house of the Cortes Generales (the Spanish parliament). The president is elected among the members of the Congress and is, after the king and the prime minister, the highest authority in the Kingdom of Spain.
The president of the Senate is the speaker of the Spanish upper house called Senate.
The Legislative Yuan is the highest legislative body of Taiwan. The president of the Legislative Yuan presides over its meetings and is elected by the legislators from among themselves. Until 1993, the president of the Control Yuan was elected by and from the members like the speaker of many other parliamentary bodies.
In the Parliament of the United Kingdom, the Speaker is the individual elected to preside over the elected House of Commons. The speaker is a member of Parliament (MP) and is elected at the beginning of each new parliament by fellow MPs. MPs also elect three Deputy Speakers, known as the Chairman of Ways and Means and the First and Second Deputy Chairmen of Ways and Means.
The Lord Speaker is the presiding officer of the House of Lords. The presiding officer of the House of Lords was until recently the Lord Chancellor, who was also a member of the government (a cabinet member) and the head of the judicial branch. The Lord Chancellor did not have the same authority to discipline members of the Lords that the speaker of the Commons has in that house. The Lord Speaker is elected by the members of the House of Lords and is expected to be politically impartial.
The presiding officer of the Scottish Parliament is the president, presiding officer and speaker of the Scottish Parliament.
The llywydd of the Senedd is the speaker of the Senedd, the Welsh parliament.
The speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly presides over the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Both chambers of the United States Congress have a presiding officer defined by the United States Constitution. The speaker of the United States House of Representatives presides over the lower house of Congress, the House of Representatives. The speaker, elected by the entire House, is the top-ranking officer of the legislative branch of the federal government. Unlike in Commonwealth realms, the position is partisan, and the speaker often plays an important part in running the House and advancing a political platform; Joseph Gurney Cannon, speaker from 1903 to 1911, is an extreme example.
The vice president of the United States, as provided by the United States Constitution formally presides over the upper house, the Senate. In practice, however, the vice president does not regularly appear in Congress owing to responsibilities in the executive branch and the fact that the vice president may only vote to break a tie, something that rarely occurs due to the filibuster preventing tie votes from occurring in practice. In the vice president's absence, the presiding role is delegated to the most senior member of the majority party, who is the president pro tempore of the United States Senate. Since the Senate's rules give little power to its non-member presider (who may be of the minority party), the task of presiding over daily business is typically rotated among junior members of the majority party.
In the forty-nine states that have a bicameral legislature, the highest leadership position in the lower house is usually called the "Speaker" and the upper house is usually the "President of the (State) Senate". In Nebraska—the only state with a unicameral legislature—the senators elect one senator to serve as "Speaker of the Nebraska Legislature", who presides over legislative sessions in the absence of the Lieutenant Governor but retains the powers typical of other legislative speakers. In Tennessee, the senators elect a "Speaker of the Senate" who presides over the Tennessee Senate and serves as lieutenant governor.
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The presiding officer for an upper house of a bicameral legislature usually has a different title such as Chairman or President of the senate When the upper house is called a senate, but they have the same duties. Australia, Chile, the United States and many other countries have upper houses with presiding officers titled "president". In several American republics, the vice president of the country serves as the president of the upper house. This pattern is not universal, however. Some upper houses, including those of Canada, have a speaker.
The presiding officer of the National Assembly for Wales, presiding officer of the Scottish Parliament, and presiding officer of the Northern Ireland Assembly fulfill the same role as the speaker.
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members often have a different title. The terms congressman/congresswoman or deputy are equivalent terms used in other jurisdictions. The term parliamentarian is also sometimes used for members of parliament, but this may also be used to refer to unelected government officials with specific roles in a parliament and other expert advisers on parliamentary procedure such as the Senate parliamentarian in the United States. The term is also used to the characteristic of performing the duties of a member of a legislature, for example: "The two party leaders often disagreed on issues, but both were excellent parliamentarians and cooperated to get many good things done."
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.
The House of Representatives is the lower house of Congress, the bicameral legislature of the Philippines, with the Senate of the Philippines as the upper house. The lower house is commonly referred to as Congress, although the term collectively refers to both houses.
The Senate of the Philippines is the upper house of Congress, the bicameral legislature of the Philippines, with the House of Representatives as the lower house. The Senate is composed of 24 senators who are elected at-large under a plurality-at-large voting system.
The president of the Senate is the presiding officer of the Australian Senate, the upper house of the Parliament of Australia. The counterpart in the lower house is the speaker of the House of Representatives. The office of the presidency of the senate was established in 1901 by section 17 of the Constitution of Australia. The primary responsibilities of the office is to oversee senate debates, determine which senators may speak, maintain order and the parliamentary code of conduct during sessions and uphold all rules and orders of the senate. The current president is Sue Lines, who was elected on 26 July 2022.
Tricameralism is the practice of having three legislative or parliamentary chambers. It is contrasted with unicameralism and bicameralism, which are both far more common.
The Parliament of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is the supreme legislative body of Sri Lanka. It alone possesses legislative supremacy and thereby ultimate power over all other political bodies in the island. It is modeled after the British Parliament. The 16th Parliament of Sri Lanka was dissolved on 24 September 2024.
The dissolution of a legislative assembly is the simultaneous termination of service of all of its members, in anticipation that a successive legislative assembly will reconvene later with possibly different members. In a democracy, the new assembly is chosen by a general election. Dissolution is distinct on the one hand from abolition of the assembly, and on the other hand from its adjournment or prorogation, or the ending of a legislative session, any of which begins a period of inactivity after which it is anticipated that the same members will reassemble. For example, the "second session of the fifth parliament" could be followed by the "third session of the fifth parliament" after a prorogation, but would be followed by the "first session of the sixth parliament" after a dissolution.
An indirect election or hierarchical voting, is an election in which voters do not choose directly among candidates or parties for an office, but elect people who in turn choose candidates or parties. It is one of the oldest forms of elections and is used by many countries for heads of state, cabinets, heads of government, and/or upper houses. It is also used for some supranational legislatures.
The National Congress is the legislative body of Brazil's federal government. Unlike the state legislative assemblies and municipal chambers, the Congress is bicameral, composed of the Federal Senate and the Chamber of Deputies. The Congress meets annually in Brasília from 2 February to 22 December, with a mid-term break taking place between 17 July and 1 August.
The National Assembly of Pakistan is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Pakistan, with the upper house being the Senate. As of 2023, the National Assembly has a maximum membership of 336, of which 266 are directly elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-past-the-post system to represent their respective constituencies, while 60 are elected on reserved seats for women and religious minorities from all over the country. Members hold their seats for five years or until the house is dissolved by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister. The house convenes at the Parliament House, Red Zone, Islamabad.
The Senate is one of the two chambers of the bicameral Federal Parliament of Belgium, the other being the Chamber of Representatives. It is considered to be the "upper house" of the Federal Parliament. Created in 1831 as a chamber fully equal to the Chamber of Representatives, it has undergone several reforms in the past, most notably in 1993 and 2014. The 2014 elections were the first without a direct election of senators. Instead, the new Senate is composed of members of community and regional parliaments and co-opted members. It is a chamber of the communities and regions and serves as a platform for discussion and reflection about matters between these federated entities. The Senate today plays a minor role in the federal legislative process. However, the Senate, together with the Chamber, has full competence for the Constitution and legislation on the organization and functioning of the Federal State and the federated entities. Since the reform of 2014, it holds about ten plenary sessions a year.
The Parliament of Egypt is the bicameral legislature of the Arab Republic of Egypt. It is composed of an upper house and a lower house.
An ex officio member is a member of a body who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term ex officio is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by right of office'; its use dates back to the Roman Republic.
The Speaker of the Parliament of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is the presiding officer of the chamber. The Speaker fulfills a number of important functions in relation to the operation of the House, which is based upon the British Westminster parliamentary system. The speaker is second in the Sri Lankan presidential line of succession, after the prime minister.
The president of the National Assembly is the presiding officer (speaker) of the National Assembly of Thailand. Since 1992, the office has been an ex officio position occupied by the Speaker of the House of Representatives of Thailand. The president is therefore an MP, usually from the majority party in the House of Representatives. The president is elected at the beginning of a House session immediately after an election, there are no term limits for the office. In the aftermath of the coup d'état in 2014, the function of legislative assembly was turned over to the junta-controlled National Legislative Assembly, which Pornpetch Wichitcholchai, President of the National Legislative Assembly, occupied the ex officio position of President of the National Assembly until the election of Wan Muhamad Noor Matha as Speaker of the House in 2023.
The president of the National Assembly is the presiding officer (speaker) of the National Assembly, Venezuela's unicameral legislature. The president's term coincides with the term of the legislature. The post has existed since the election of the first National Assembly in 2000. Before the creation of the National Assembly with the adoption of the 1999 constitution, the country's legislature was the bicameral Congress, which contained the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies. The last president of the Senate was Luis Alfonso Dávila, and the last president of the Chamber of Deputies was Henrique Capriles Radonski.
The Bureaus of the Cortes Generales are the governing bodies of each House of the Cortes Generales, the legislative branch of Spain. The Bureaus are made up of the President or Speaker of the House, the Vice Presidents or Deputy Speakers and the Secretaries. Each Bureau is regulated by the standing orders of its house.
The Senate of Somalia is the Upper Chamber of the bi-cameral legislature of Somalia. The Senate of Somalia is the upper chamber of the Federal Parliament of Somalia, which, along with the lower chamber constitutes the legislature of Somalia. The Senate chamber is located in Mogadishu, the capital City of Somalia.
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