The President of the Victorian Legislative Council, also known as the presiding officer of the council, is the presiding officer of the

Victorian Legislative Council The Victorian Legislative Council (VLC) is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria, Australia, the lower house being the Legislative Assembly. Both houses sit at Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The Legislative C ...

, the

upper house An upper house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smalle ...

of the

Parliament of Victoria The Parliament of Victoria is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Victoria that follows a Westminster-derived parliamentary system. It consists of the King, represented by the Governor of Victoria, the Legislative Assembly and ...

and equivalent to the

President of the Australian Senate The President of the Senate is the Speaker (politics), presiding officer of the Australian Senate, the upper house of the Parliament of Australia. The position is provided for by Section 17 of the Constitution of Australia. The Senate elects ...

. When there is a vacancy in the office of president, a new president is elected by the members of the council from among its number. The president ceases to hold that office if they cease to be a member of the council, and can be removed at any time by a vote of the members. The current president is

Shaun Leane Shaun Leo Leane (born 20 August 1963 in Oakleigh, Victoria) is a Labor Party politician and a current member for the Eastern Metropolitan Region in the Victorian Legislative Council, having been first elected in 2006. Leane has served as a ...

The role of the president

The president is always a member of the Victorian Legislative Council, and is the ceremonial head of that council. The president performs ceremonial duties, and represents the council to other organisations. In conjunction with the

Speaker of the Victorian Legislative Assembly The Speaker of the Victorian Legislative Assembly is the presiding officer of the Victorian Legislative Assembly, the lower house of the Parliament of Victoria. The presiding officer of the upper house of the Parliament of Victoria, the Victorian ...

, the president is responsible for the administration of the Victorian Parliament. When the council is sitting, the president enforces procedures and assists the smooth running of council meetings. The president is assisted in their duties by a deputy president.

Choosing the president

The president of the Legislative Council is an elected position. When a new president is required, any member of the Legislative Council may propose, during a council sitting, any other present member for the position of president. If more than one member is proposed and seconded, all members must agree to one particular candidate. After election, the president presents his or herself as the choice of the council to be their president.

List of presidents of the Legislative Council

:''Note: where no political party is listed, this means that either the party is unknown, or that the President in question was not affiliated with any particular party. Multiple parties are listed in cases where the President represented more than one party over his career as a Member of the Legislative Council.''

References

{{Government of Victoria

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...