The Speaker is the presiding officer of the National Assembly in

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

. The post was created in 1966 when the National Assembly came into being, although previous legislatures including the Legislative Council, House of Assembly, and the Legislative Assembly also had Speakers. The position of Speaker was introduced in 1953 following constitutional reforms that created the House of Assembly. The Speaker was initially appointed by the Governor, but following the 1961 constitutional reforms, was elected by members of the legislature. The first elected Speaker,

Rahman Baccus Gajraj Rahman Bacchus Gajraj, CBE (11 May 1910 – 23 February 2004) was a Guyanese politician and lawyer. He served as Speaker of the National Assembly of Guyana from 1961 to 1964 and 1968 to 1971. He also served as Lord Mayor of Georgetown, Guyana an ...

, was not a member of the Legislative Assembly. The second,

Aubrey Percival Alleyne Aubrey is traditionally a male English given name. The name is from the French derivation Aubry of the Germanic given name Alberic / Old High German given name Alberich, which consists of the elements ALF "elf" and RIK "king", from Proto-Germani ...

, was a member of the House of Assembly, and after election as Speaker, resigned from his role as an elected member and was replaced by the next person on the party's list. The Speaker initially wore a full-bottomed wig and ceremonial gown, with the practice ceasing in 1969. The Speaker's Chair was a gift from the Government of India on 15 November 1966 to celebrate Guyanese independence.Historical information events and dates on the Parliament of Guyana from 1718 to 2006
Parliament of Guyana

List of speakers

Note

*Jagan died in office. Deputy speaker, Clarissa Riehl, served as acting speaker 15–23 October 2000 until a successor was elected.

References

{{Guyana topics Lists of political office-holders in Guyana