President of the Senate

The President of the Senate is a title often given to the presiding officer, speaker, or chairman of a senate.

In countries with a presidential system of government the position is sometimes bestowed on the Vice President, following the tradition set by the United States Constitution; for example, the presidency of the Argentine Senate or the Senate of Uruguay. The Senate President is often a very high-ranking figure in the order of presidential succession: for example, the President of the Senate of Nigeria is second in line for succession to the presidency, after only the Vice President of the Republic, while in France, which has no vice president, the Senate President is first in line to succeed the President.

Antigua and Barbuda

The Senate of Antigua and Barbuda elects a President and Vice President, for a five-year period, at the start of each parliamentary session. These officers may not be members of the government. The current incumbents are Hazelyn Francis and McKenzie Morris Frank.

Argentina

The Argentine Senate is presided by the Vice-President of the Republic, currently Julio Cobos. This was a recent expansion of the Vice-President's powers introduced as part of the 1994 Constitutional amendments (Constitution, Art. 57). The Vice-President may only cast a vote to break a tied Senate vote.

Australia

The Australian Senate elects a president from its members, who is comparable to the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Unlike the Speaker, the President casts a deliberative vote in elections and not a casting vote; tied motions fail to pass. The position is partisan and has usually been held by a member of the Government party. The President is assisted by a deputy president, who has been (since 1981) a member of the Opposition party.

The current President of the Senate is the Queensland Labor Senator John Hogg, with Liberal's Alan Ferguson of South Australia as Deputy President.

Barbados

At the start of every parliamentary session, the Senate of Barbados elects a President and a Vice President, neither of whom may be ministers or parliamentary secretaries. Prior to the January 2008 general election, the positions were held by Sir Fred Gollop and Dame Patricia Symmonds.

Belgium

:"See also: List of Presidents of the Belgian Senate".The presiding officer of the Belgian Senate 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. He or she presides over the plenary assembly of the Senate, guides and controls debates in the assembly, and is responsible for ensuring the democratic functioning of the Senate, for the maintenance of order and security in the assembly and for enforcing the Rules of the Senate. He or she also 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 Chamber of Representatives, ranks immediately behind the King in the order of precedence. The elder of the two takes the second place in the order of precedence. The Presidents of the Senate and the Chamber rank above the Prime Minister.

Belize

The Senate of Belize elects both a president and a vice-president upon first convening after a general election. The person elected president may be a senator (provided he/she does not concurrently hold a ministerial position) or a person external to the Senate. The vice-president must be a member of the Senate who does not hold a ministerial portfolio. (Constitution, section 66.) [ [http://www.belizelaw.org/e_library/constitution_06.html :: belizelaw.org - welcome :: ] ]

The current President is Phillip Zuniga, with Mrs. Vincent Parks as Vice-President.

Brazil

The current President of Brazil's Federal Senate is Garibaldi Alves Filho, who represents Rio Grande do Norte for the PMDB.

Burundi

The President of the Senate of Burundi, since 17 August 2005, is Gervais Rufyikiri of the CNDD-FDD. The president is assisted in his work by two vice-presidents.

Cambodia

The Senate of Cambodia is led by a 12-person permanent commission "(bureau)", which is in turn chaired by the President of the Senate, currently Chea Sim. He is assisted by a First and a Second Vice-President. [ [http://www.senate.gov.kh/France/decouverte.pdf L'organisation et le fonctionnement du Snat ] ] The President and Vice-Presidents are elected as the first item of business at the start of every legislative session. [ [http://www.senate.gov.kh/France/legislation.pdf Rglement ] ]

Canada

While the Speaker of the Canadian Senate, 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.

Chile

The President of the Senate of Chile is elected from among the country's senators. The current holder of the position, since March 2008, is Adolfo Zaldivar.

Colombia

The President of the Senate – Nancy Patricia Gutiérrez for the 2007–08 period – also serves as the President of the Congress of Colombia.

Fiji

The members of the Senate of Fiji elect from among their number both a President and Vice-President, whose roles are similar to those of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, respectively.

The current incumbents are Kinijoji Maivalili (President) and Hafiz Khan (Vice-President).

France

The Senate of France elects a president from among its own number. The President of the French Senate stands first in line of succession in case of death or resignation of the President of the Republic, becoming acting president until a presidential election can be held. This most recently occurred with Alain Poher, who was senate president from 1968 to 1992 and who served as interim president on two occasions: following De Gaulle's resignation in 1969, and following Pompidou's death in office in 1974.

Since 2008, the position has been held by Gérard Larcher of the UMP.

Germany

In the German Länder of Bremen and Hamburg, the Senates (or "Senat" in German) are the executive branch, with Senators ("Senator") being the holders of ministerial portfolios. In these Länder, the President of the Senate ("Präsident des Senats") is an office equivalent to that of minister-president in the other German Länder.

Italy

The Senate of Italy holds its first sitting no later than 20 days after a general election. That session, presided by the oldest senator, proceeds to elect the President of the Senate for the following parliamentary period. On the first two attempts at voting, an absolute majority of all senators is needed; if a third round is needed, a candidate can be elected by an absolute 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 s/he is unable to perform his/her duties. [ [http://www.senato.it/english/default.htm senato.it - Parliament ] ]

The current President of the Senate is Renato Schifani. For a historical listing, see: Italian Senate#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.

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.

Mexico

The Senate of Mexico, 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 2007–08 period of sessions is Santiago Creel of the National Action Party (PAN).

Nigeria

The President of the Senate is the presiding officer of the upper house in the Nigerian National Assembly. The Senate President is chosen by indirect election within the Senate.

The current President of the Senate is David Mark, who represents Benue State for the People's Democratic Party.

Philippines

:"See President of the Senate of the Philippines"

Poland

:"See Marshal of the Senate of the Republic of Poland"

Puerto Rico

:"See: Senate of Puerto Rico#Presidents of the Puerto Rico Senate"

Romania

The Standing Bureau of the Romanian Senate consists of the President of the Senate, four vice-presidents, four secretaries, and four quaestors. The President of the Standing Bureau also serves as the President of the Senate. The President is elected, by secret ballot, for the duration of the legislative period. [ [http://www.senat.ro/PaginaPrincipala.aspx?tdID=41&divID=14&b=0&adr=%2fpagini%2fengleza%2fRegulamentul+Senatului+engleza.pdf Pagina oficiala a Senatului României ] ]

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.:"For a listing, see: Senate of South Africa#Presidents of the Senate of South Africa (1910-1980) and (1994-1997)"

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). [ [http://www.ttparliament.org/Docs/constitution/ttconst.pdf Constitution of Trinidad and Tobago - Updated to 2003 ] ] A Vice-President of the Senate is also elected from among the senators. The current President of the Senate is Danny Montano.

United States

:"See also: List of the Presidents of the United States Senate and Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution"The Vice President of the United States is designated by the Constitution as the President of the Senate. The Vice President holds a tie breaking vote in the Senate and does not usually preside over the Senate. Since its conception, the role of casting a tie-breaking vote in the Senate has been exercised 242 times. The Vice President of the United States with the most tie breaking votes is John Adams with 29. If there is no sitting Vice President then the President pro tempore of the United States Senate serves as President of the Senate. In practice, freshman senators are traditionally assigned the role of presiding over the Senate in order to learn Senate procedure.

The current Vice President of the United States and President of the U.S. Senate is Dick Cheney.

US state senates

In United States state government, the President of the Senate is a matter decided by the state constitution. Some states designate the Lieutenant Governor as President of the Senate, while other states allow for the Senate to elect one of the Senators as President. The Tennessee Senate elects a Senator as Speaker, and this Speaker is given the title of Lieutenant Governor. Similarly, New Hampshire has no lieutenant governor, but the State Senate elects a president who is the "de facto" Lieutenant Governor, given that in the event of the Governor's death, resignation, or inability to serve, the President of the Senate acts as Governor until the position is filled, presumably by the next regularly scheduled biennial Gubernatorial election.

While such systems where the first in line for the Executive is the President of the Senate seem similar to the Vice Presidency of the United States, only once in history has there been a Vice President of a party opposing that of the President, when Democratic-Republican Thomas Jefferson was Vice President under Federalist John Adams, a situation that in part prompted the later adoption of the Twelfth Amendment to prevent such a situation from recurring. (While Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson were a Republican and a Democrat respectively, they were elected together on the National Union ticket in the 1864 presidential election.) In states where the President of a Senate is chosen by the Senate (Tennessee and New Hampshire), it is far more likely in that the first in line of succession for the executive would be a political adversary of the sitting Governor.

Uruguay

The Vice President of Uruguay presides over that country's 30-member Senate.

References

ee also

*Speaker of the Senate
*Chairman of the Senate