Speaker of the Sanctarian House of Deputies
| Speaker of the House of Deputies | |
|---|---|
 Sanctarian Coat of Arms | |
| Style |
|
| Member of |
|
| Reports to | House of Deputies |
| Seat | Parliament House, Sanctus, Sanctaria |
| Appointer | House of Deputies following secret ballot. |
| Term length | None Until end of House term. |
| Formation | 19 November 1974 |
| First holder | Rémi Lambert |
| Deputy | Deputy Speaker of the House of Deputies |
| Salary | S£300,000 |
| Website | speaker.house.sct |
The Speaker of the House of Deputies is the chairperson and presiding officer of the House of Deputies, the lower house of the federal Parliament of Sanctaria. The current Speaker, Amber Woodrow, was elected by the House of Deputies from among their number at the first sitting of the House on 14 December 2022 following the most recent general election.
History[edit | edit source]
Court dress[edit | edit source]
The Speaker is notable for wearing a bright red robe, known as court dress, and a horsehair wig. When a Speaker is elected to the position by the House, they are customarily dragged to an ante-chamber known as the Robing Room[a] and dressed by longserving House members.
Over the years, some Speakers have made adjustments to the court dress. Laurent St. Pierre eschewed the heavy, white wollen cape and preferred jabots made of lace over the common cotton. Amber Woodrow, upon her election as the first female Speaker in December 2022, opted for a smaller wig rather than the traditional shoulder-length ones used by previous Speakers, citing reasons of comfort.
The traditions of wearing court dress and being dressed in a Robing Room come from practices in the Royal Court of the Patriarch of the Papal States of Sanctaria where the Papal Majordomo wore similar robes and was traditionally chosen against his will for the role. The Papal Majordomo was responsible for controlling access to the Patriarch, and over the centuries of its existance, many holders of the role were assassinated due to what was perceived as excessive or malicious gatekeeping.
Overview[edit | edit source]
The Speaker of the House of Deputies holds a key parliamentary position and is expected to maintain strict impartiality in the proceedings of the House. While the government usually aims to nominate a member from its own political party for the role if they have sufficient deputies, the Speaker's impartiality is crucial. As a result of Speakers' inability to participate in debate or make representations for their constituents, outgoing Speakers seeking re-election to the House are, by convention, typically unopposed by other parties in general elections.
The Speaker's role is primarily non-participatory, as they do not engage in debates or cast votes, except in the case of a tie. In such situations, the Speaker generally follows parliamentary conventions, which often involve voting against motions.[b] Specifically, the duties of the Speaker are:
- Calling on Members to Speak: The Speaker has the responsibility of recognising deputies to address the House. All speeches must be directed towards the Speaker.
- Conducting House Proceedings: The Speaker puts forth questions to the House, supervises the voting process during divisions, and declares the results of the votes.
- Maintaining Order: The Speaker has the authority to preserve order within the House. In cases of disorderly conduct, the Speaker may order deputies to withdraw from the House chamber or suspend an individual from participating for a specific period. In instances of significant disorder, the Speaker can suspend or adjourn the entire House.
In addition to the Speaker's parliamentary duties, they hold an ex officio position on the Presidential Commission. This commission serves as a collective vice presidency and assumes the duties of the President of Sanctaria in the absence of an incumbent or when the President is unavailable due to travel or other reasons. The Speaker also serves on the Parliament Commission, a body which is responsible for managing the upkeep and maintenance of Parliament House.
List of speakers[edit | edit source]
| Speakers of the House of Deputies | ||||||
Colour key:
| ||||||
| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) |
Term of office[c] | House | ||
| 1 | 
|
Rémi Lambert (1905–1991) |
19 November 1974 |
29 November 1986 |
First | |
| Second | ||||||
| 2 | 
|
Laurent St. Pierre (1922–1997) |
29 November 1986 |
12 December 1993 |
Third | |
| 3 | 
|
Nicholas Maynard (1925—2010) |
12 December 1993 |
01 December 2000 |
Fourth | |
| 4 | 
|
Neville Bourne (b. 1940) |
01 December 2000 |
01 March 2013 |
Fifth | |
| Sixth | ||||||
| 5 | 
|
Cyril Jackson (b. 1948) |
01 March 2013 |
31 January 2018 |
Seventh | |
| 6 | 
|
Daniel Morgan (b. 1958) |
31 January 2018 |
14 December 2022 |
Eighth | |
| 7 | 
|
Amber Woodrow (b. 1960) |
14 December 2022 |
Incumbent | Ninth | |
Notes[edit | edit source]
- ↑ The Robing Room in the modern, purpose-built Parliament House is a small office located beside the Speaker's Office where gifts presented to the House by visiting dignitaries are housed.
- ↑ Speakers follow the principle that in the event of a tie, they should always vote in favour of a motion that furthers debate, against the final readings of bills as there is no clear majority, against motions of no confidence, and in favour of financial bills.
- ↑ The Sanctarian constitution explicitly provides for the offices of Speaker of the House and Moderator of the Senate to be able to be held by individuals who are not members of either chamber. This is to enable the Speaker and the Moderator to continue to fulfil their duties as part of the Presidential Commission as and when needed, and is necessary due to the provision within the constitution that states all MPs and Senators immediately vacate their seats on the dissolution of their house; this includes members of the government who are deemed to have immediately resigned their posts upon dissolution of the House. As such, individuals who serve successive terms as either Speaker or Moderator do not see their terms interrupted by dissolution and elections.