President of the Senate of Spain

The President of the Senate of Spain is the speaker of the Spanish Senate, the upper house of Spain's Cortes Generales. It is the fourth authority of the country after the Monarch (Head of State), the Prime Minister (Head of Government) and the President of the Congress of Deputies (Speaker of the Lower House). He or she is elected among and by the incumbent senators and when unable to exercise power, he or she is replaced by the Vice Presidents of the Senate.

For a list of presidents of the senate, see List of Presidents of the Senate of Spain.
President of the Senate
Presidente del Senado
Incumbent
Pilar Llop
since 3 December 2019
Senate of Spain
StyleThe Most Excellent
SeatPalacio del Senado,
Madrid
NominatorMajor parties
AppointerThe Senate
Term lengthThe duration of the Senate's meeting; normally four years with no limit.
Constituting instrumentRoyal Statue (original)
Spanish Constitution (current)
FormationApril 16, 1834 (1834-04-16)
First holderThe Duke of Bailén
July 17, 1834
DeputyVice Presidents of the Senate
Salary€177,000 annually (2017)[1]
Spain
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Although it shares the representation of the Cortes Generales with the President of the Congress, the constitutional preponderance granted to the latter due to the asymmetry of the Spanish bicameralism, allows the President of the Congress to assume the leadership of the Cortes, leaving the President of the Senate in background.

The current office was established by the 1978 Constitution, however, the position has a tradition of almost 200 years, since its creation in 1834 when it was called President of the House of Peers.

As of the 14th term of the Cortes Generales, the current officeholder is Pilar Llop, a member of the Socialist Parliamentary Group representing Madrid.[2]

Functions

The functions of the President of the Senate of Spain are:[3]

  • To be the Speaker of the House and its representative in all official acts.
  • To convene and preside over the sessions of the Senate Plenary and to keep the order of the discussions, direct the debates and convene and preside over the Senate Bureau.
  • To convene and preside over, whenever it deems appropriate, any Senate Committee.
  • To announce the agenda of the Senate Plenary.
  • To maintain communications with the central government and other authorities.
  • To sign, with one of the Secretaries, the messages that the Senate must address.
  • To interpret the Senate's standing rules.
  • To supply, in agreement with the Bureau of the Committee on Rules, the gaps of this one.
  • To ensure observance of the standing orders and of the parliamentary courtesy and parliamentary usage.
  • To implement measures regarding parliamentary discipline.
  • The President also performs all other functions conferred by the Constitution, the laws and the standing orders

Election

The President of the Senate is elected during the constitutive session which follows the General Elections of the Kingdom or during the next session following the resignation of the incumbent President.

The election of the President needs an absolute majority in the House. If an absolute majority is not reached in the first vote, a second vote is held immediately after the announcement of the results by the Acting President of the House (the elder senator).[4] The second vote needs only a simple majority (i.e., more "yes" than "no" votes). Each senator is free to write the name he wants on his ballot, even if those senators of the majority group vote for a candidate predefined by their party.

The President's term ends in case of death, resignation, loss of the status of senator or after the dissolution of the Senate, prior to a new general election.[5]

Vice Presidents

According to the Standing Rules of the Senate, there are two Vice Presidents of the Senate elected in the constitutive session after the election of the President (Part I § 5). The Vice Presidents do not need an absolute majority, they are elected in a unique voting and the two most voted candidates are elected (Part I § 5).

The only task that the standing orders entrust to the Vice Presidents is that to replace the President in cases of vacancy, absence or impossibility to exercise (Part I § 40).

Order Name Term start Group
1st Cristina Narbona 21 May 2019 Socialist Parliamentary Group
2nd Pío García-Escudero 21 May 2019 People's Group in the Senate

List of Presidents
Main article: List of Presidents of the Senate of Spain

Since its creation in 1834, 42 people have served as president in 61 presidencies. The first president was the Duke of Bailé who served for 60 days before resigning. The shortest presidency was that of the Marquess of Miraflores which was president briefly between August 3 and August 12, 1836 and the longest was that of Javier Rojo serving 7 years, 8 months and 10 days. Many presidents have served in non-consecutive terms in office; The Marquess of Miraflores and Eugenio Montero Ríos served in five non-consecutives terms. The first woman who have served as president was Esperanza Aguirre, between 1999 and 2002. The current and 61st President is Pilar Llop.

References
  1. "Estos son los cargos públicos de España que más cobran". www.publico.es. Retrieved 2019-06-04.
  2. "Catalan Socialists Batet and Cruz confirmed as Spanish parliament and senate speakers". VilaWeb (in Catalan). Retrieved 2019-06-04.
  3. Section 1º. Of the President and the Vicepresidents. Standing Orders of the Senate.
  4. Chapter 2. Article 4. Standing Orders of the Senate.
  5. Chapter 2. Article 7. Procedure for the constitution of the Senate. Standing Orders of the Congress.
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