The President of the Senate presided over the

Senate of South Africa The Senate was the upper house of the Parliament of South Africa between 1910 and its abolition from 1 January 1981, and between 1994 and 1997. 1910–1981 Under white minority rule in the Union of South Africa, most of the Senators were chosen ...

, 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 South Africa The Parliament of the Republic of South Africa is South Africa's legislature; under the present Constitution of South Africa, the bicameral Parliament comprises a National Assembly and a National Council of Provinces. The current twenty-seve ...

. The

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

was chosen from among the Senators at its first sitting following a general election and whenever the office was vacant. The President acted as a "

referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other titl ...

", taking charge of debates to make sure that the Senators could participate freely while keeping to the rules. The President also had managerial duties to ensure that

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

runs smoothly. Each

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

in the Senate elected a chief whip to run its affairs. The presiding officers, the chief whips, and the Leader of Government Business (the person appointed by the Cabinet to liaise with Parliament) together decided on the programme of work. The President of the Senate had a

dormant commission A dormant commission is a commission in a Commonwealth realm that lies dormant or sleeping until it is triggered by a particular event. Historically, a dormant commission was given in relation to a military command. During the Crimean War, Sir ...

to become acting

State President of South Africa The State President of the Republic of South Africa ( af, Staatspresident) was the head of state of South Africa from 1961 to 1994. The office was established when the country became a republic on 31 May 1961, albeit, outside the Commonweal ...

when there was a vacancy in that office, which was often the case, especially between 1967 and 1979. The Senate was abolished for the first time in 1980, with effect from 1 January 1981, during a process of constitutional reform, and replaced with the

President's Council The State President of the Republic of South Africa ( af, Staatspresident) was the head of state of South Africa from 1961 to 1994. The office was established when the country became a republic on 31 May 1961, albeit, outside the Commonweal ...

. The Senate was briefly reestablished under the 1993 interim constitution. The Senate was abolished for the second and final time under the 1997 constitution. The office of President of the Senate was succeeded by the office of Chairperson of the

National Council of Provinces The National Council of Provinces (NCOP) is the upper house of the Parliament of South Africa under the (post-apartheid) constitution which came into full effect in 1997. It replaced the former Senate, but is very similar to that body, and to ...

List of presidents (1910–1980 and 1994–1997)

References

* ''Keesing's Contemporary Archives'' (various volumes) * ''The South African Constitution'', by H.J. May (3rd edition 1955, Juta & Co)

External links

South African ministries, etc – Rulers.org
{{SouthAfricaSenateNCOPPresidents Legislative speakers in South Africa Parliament of South Africa

List of presidents (1910–1980 and 1994–1997)

See also

References

External links