The President of the Senate of the Republic ( it, Presidente del Senato della Repubblica) is the presiding officer of the

Italian Senate The Senate of the Republic ( it, Senato della Repubblica), or simply the Senate ( it, Senato), is the upper house of the bicameral Italian Parliament (the other being the Chamber of Deputies). The two houses together form a perfect bicameral sy ...

. The President of the Senate is the second highest-ranking office of the

Italian Republic Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

(after the President of the Republic). Since 13 October 2022, the role has been held by

Ignazio La Russa Ignazio Benito Maria La Russa (born 18 July 1947) is an Italian politician who is serving as President of the Senate of the Republic since 13 October 2022. He is the first politician with a neo-fascist background to hold the position of Presid ...

Role

The President of the Senate represents the Senate to external bodies, regulates debates in the Senate chamber by applying its regulations and the rules of the

Italian Constitution The Constitution of the Italian Republic ( it, Costituzione della Repubblica Italiana) was enacted by the Constituent Assembly on 22 December 1947, with 453 votes in favour and 62 against. The text, which has since been amended sixteen times, ...

, and regulates all the activities of its components in order to ensure that it functions correctly. The President of the Senate, along with the

President of the Chamber of Deputies President of the Chamber of Deputies may refer to: * List of presidents of the Argentine Chamber of Deputies * List of presidents of the Chamber of Deputies of Bolivia * President of the Chamber of Deputies (Brazil) * President of the Chamber of Dep ...

, must be consulted by the President of the Republic before the latter can dissolve the Italian Parliament (Article 88).

Acting President of the Republic

If the President of the Republic is unable to perform their role as

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...

, then the President of the Senate takes on the role, under article 86 of the Italian Constitution. In this event, the

honor guard A guard of honour ( GB), also honor guard ( US), also ceremonial guard, is a group of people, usually military in nature, appointed to receive or guard a head of state or other dignitaries, the fallen in war, or to attend at state ceremonials, ...

of the President of the Republic, the

Corazzieri The Cuirassiers Regiment ( it, Reggimento corazzieri) is a Carabinieri cavalry regiment acting as guard of honour of the President of the Italian Republic. Their motto is ''Virtus in periculis firmior''. From 1948 to 1965, the regiment was offic ...

, are transferred to the President of the Senate's residence, Palazzo Giustiniani, and a banner with the symbol of the Italian Republic is placed in the President's office. While the President of the Senate is acting President of the Republic, the presidency of the Senate is exercised by a Vice President.

Election

The President of the Senate is elected by the members of the Senate. This election is governed by the Senate's regulations, which require a simple majority of the votes of the members of the Senate. In case this does not result in election of a candidate after two rounds of voting, then the President can be elected by a simple majority of the voting members (i.e. excluding abstentions). If the Senate still fails to elect a President, then it holds a run-off vote between the two candidates who received the most votes in the preceding round of voting and award the presidency to whoever receives a plurality of the votes. If votes for the two candidates are tied, then the position is given to whichever candidate is older. The election of the President of the Senate takes place at the first sitting of the Senate after an election, which must occur within twenty days of said election. Until the election is complete, the presidency is held by the oldest Senator.

References

External links

*{{cite web, url=http://www.senato.it/, title=Official website of the Senate of the Republic Italian Parliament Chairs of upper houses

Role

Acting President of the Republic

Election

See also

References

External links