Speaker (politics)  

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The term speaker is a title often given to the presiding officer (chair) of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body. 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 house. The speaker often also represents the body in person, as the voice of the body in ceremonial and some other situations.

The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerford in the Parliament of England for ; in most other cultures other styles are used, mainly translations of chairman or president. In Canadian French, the Speaker of the House of Commons or a legislature are referred to as Président. By convention, these Speakers are normally addressed in Parliament as Mister Speaker, if a man, or Madam Speaker, if a woman.

Many bodies also have a speaker pro tempore or deputy speaker, designated to fill in when the speaker is not available.

United Kingdom and other "Westminster system" countries

IN Westminster-style chambers, the speaker does not have a deliberative vote, but only a tiebreaker. In some countries such as the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, this has developed into a convention of scrupulous political neutrality and the speaker resigns from his party, votes only by convention to ensure the government does not fall, and is either not challenged (in the UK) or automatically deemed elected if re-election is sought (in Ireland). Despite these conventions, the speaker is usually elected from among the members of the assembly by the members, and whips are not allowed to be among the selection. In the United Kingdom, a speaker is normally chosen from one of the two largest parties.

These conventions do not apply in all countries. In Canada, major parties routinely field candidates against a speaker seeking re-election. In Australia, the speakership is a partisan position and the politically neutral position of the UK has been criticised by the Clerk of the Senate as potentially disenfranchising voters in the Speaker's seat.<ref>The Australian. (2010-08-31). Independent speaker not fair on voters, warns Clerk of Senate. Retrieved 2010-08-31.</ref>

Upper Houses in Westminster style Parliaments often have a presiding office which works differently, following the different conventions that apply in the British House of Lords. The officer may still be titled Speaker, as in the House of Commons, or use a different title, such as "President" as in Australian upper house.

United States

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