President of the Senate

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 senate president often ranks high in a jurisdiction's

.

In the absence of the president of the senate, the senate is presided over by a president pro tempore, who is considered the highest-ranking among senators.

Africa

Burundi

The

. The president is assisted in his work by two vice presidents.

Liberia

While the vice president of Liberia serves as president of the Senate, the senators also elect from among their number a president pro tempore to lead the chamber's day-to-day business.

Nigeria

The

, elected by its membership.

The president of the Senate since 13 June 2023 is Godswill Akpabio, who represents the Akwa Ibom.

South Africa

The Senate of South Africa was the upper house of parliament between 1910 and 1981, and between 1994 and 1997. During both periods, the Senate was led by a president.

Asia and Oceania

Australia

The president of the Australian Senate is a senator, traditionally a member of the governing party or coalition, elected by the Senate at the beginning of each parliament as the first item of business. They are assisted by a deputy president who is traditionally a member of the largest opposition party.^[1]

Cambodia

The

Fiji

The members of the former Senate of Fiji (abolished in 2012) used to elect from among their number both a president and vice-president, whose roles were similar to those of the speaker and deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, respectively.

The last persons to hold those positions were President

of 5 December 2006 brought their terms to a premature end.

Malaysia

Main article:

President of the Senate of Malaysia

The Senate of Malaysia elects a president from its members, who is comparable to the speaker of the House of Representatives. The position is partisan and has usually been held by a member of the Government party.

Philippines

Sri Lanka

The Senate of Ceylon was the upper house of Parliament between 1947 and 1971. During this period, the Senate was led by a president.

Europe

Belgium

The presiding officer of the

is elected by the senators at the beginning of each parliamentary term. The president of the Senate is customarily a member of a majority party with a great deal of political experience. The president presides over the plenary assembly of the Senate, guides and controls debates in the assembly, is responsible for ensuring the democratic functioning of the Senate, maintains order and security in the assembly for enforcing the rules of the Senate, and represents the Senate at both the national (to the other institutions) and the international level.

The president of the Senate, together with the president of the

.

Danzig

In the Free City of Danzig (1920–1939, 1945), the Senate (or Senat in German) was the executive branch, with senators (Senator) being the holders of ministerial portfolios. In Danzig, the president of the Senate (Präsident des Senats) was an office equivalent to that of prime minister in other countries.

France

The

's death in office in 1974.

Since 2014, the position has been held by

Les Républicains

(LR), formerly known as the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP).

Germany

In the German

in other German Länder.

Italy

The

absolute majority

(a majority of all senators) is needed; if a third round is needed, a candidate can be elected by a majority of the senators present and voting. If this third round fails to produce a winner, a final ballot is held between the two senators with the highest votes in the previous ballot. In the case of a tie, the elder senator is deemed the winner.

In addition to overseeing the business of the chamber, chairing and regulating debates, deciding whether motions and bills are admissible, representing the Senate, etc., the president of the Senate stands in for the president of the Republic when he is unable to perform his duties.^[4]

The current president of the Senate is

.

Poland

Romania

The first session of the Senate is headed by the eldest senator. In that session, the senators-elect the

The Senate president succeeds temporarily the president of Romania if the latter resigns, is suspended, incapacitated or dies in office. (The Senate president continues to be president of the Senate during the ad-interim presidency of the country and acts as president until a new president is elected).

Spain

Main article:

President of the Spanish Senate

North America

Barbados

Main article:

List of Presidents of the Senate of Barbados

At the start of every parliamentary session, the

.

Belize

The

The current[update] president is Carolyn Trench-Sandiford.

Canada

While the speaker of the Senate of Canada, who serves as the presiding officer of the Senate of Canada, is not described as a "president" in English, the position is called président du Sénat in French. They are appointed by the governor general on the prime minister's advice.

Mexico

The

, at the beginning of each annual legislative session, elects an executive board (Mesa Directiva) from among its 128 members. The executive board comprises a president, three vice presidents, and four secretaries, elected by an absolute majority of the senators. Members of the executive board may be re-elected for the following year without restriction. The president of the executive board also serves as the president of the Senate.

The president of the Senate for the current

, and former president of MORENA.

Trinidad and Tobago

The president of the Senate of Trinidad and Tobago, who is generally elected from the government benches, chairs debates in the chamber and stands in for the country's president during periods of absence or illness (Constitution, section 27).^[7] A vice-president of the Senate is also elected from among the senators. The current president of the Senate is Nigel de Freitas.

United States

The

).

While vice presidents used to regularly preside over the Senate, modern vice presidents have done so only rarely, as the daily procedures are routine. Vice presidents usually personally preside over swearing in new senators, during joint sessions, announcing the result of a vote on a significant bill or confirmation, or when casting a tie-breaking vote. The Senate chooses a president pro tempore to preside in the vice president's absence. Modern presidents pro tempore, too, rarely preside over the Senate. In practice, junior senators of the majority party typically preside over routine functions to learn Senate procedure.

Vice presidents have cast 301 tie-breaking votes since the U.S. federal government was established in 1789. The vice president with the most tie-breaking votes is Kamala Harris (serving since 2021) with 33. The most recent vice president to have completed his term of office, Mike Pence, in office from 2017 to 2021, cast 13 tie-breaking votes. Kamala Harris was sworn in as the new president of the Senate on January 20, 2021^[8] and has cast 33 tie-breaking votes as of January 2024.

U.S. state senates

In

elects a senator speaker of the Senate, who is given the title of lieutenant governor.

Similarly,

2009 election

.

Many state legislatures act almost like miniature versions of the U.S. House of Representatives and the

acts like a vice president and is the president of the Pennsylvania Senate. Both chambers of the Pennsylvania legislature also have minority and majority leaders, and a speaker of the House.

Puerto Rico

South America

Argentina

The

, Art. 57). The vice-president may only cast a vote to break a tied Senate vote.

Brazil

The current^[update]

.

The president of the Federal Senate is the third order to succeed the president (only below the vice president and the president of the Chamber of Deputies). It is also the president of the National Congress, which includes the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies.

Chile

The president of the

.

Colombia

The president of the Senate of Colombia is elected from among the country's senators. The current holder of the position, since July 2022, is Roy Barreras.

The president of the Senate is the second order to succeed the president (only below the vice president and the president of the Chamber of Representatives). It is also the president of Congress, which includes the Senate and the Chamber of Representatives.

Peru

Peru had a bicameral Congress from 1829 until 1992. The president of the Senate was elected by the Senate members to preside over the sessions for one year.

Uruguay

The vice president of Uruguay presides over the country's 30-member Senate.

See also

• The princeps senatus, the leader of the Roman Senate
• Speaker of the Senate

References