Speaker ( politics ) - wikipedia Speaker ( politics ) Marshal 's chair in the Sejm, lower chamber of the Polish Parliament The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1399 in England. Contents 1 Usage 1.1 Australia 1.2 Italy 1.3 Canada 1.4 Singapore 1.5 United Kingdom 1.6 United States 1.6. 1 Federal 1.6. 2 States 2 Similar posts 3 List of current speakers 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading Usage Parliament of Albania The speaker 's official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the powers to discipline members who break the procedures of the chamber or house. The speaker often also represents the body in person, as the voice of the body in ceremonial and some other situations. The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerford in the Parliament of England. By convention, speakers are normally addressed in Parliament as ' Mister Speaker ', if a man, or ' Madam Speaker ', if a woman. In other cultures other styles are used, mainly being equivalents of English `` chairman '' or `` president ''. Many bodies also have a speaker pro tempore ( or deputy speaker ), designated to fill in when the speaker is not available. The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the English - speaking world and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. You may improve this article, discuss the issue on the talk page, or create a new article, as appropriate. ( September 2015 ) Australia The Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives is the presiding officer of the Australian House of Representatives, the lower house of the Parliament of Australia. The President of the Australian Senate is the presiding officer of the Australian Senate, the upper house of the Parliament of Australia. Italy Italian parliamentarism is centered on the Presidents of the two Houses, vested in defense of the members and of the assembly as a whole ; so `` the Speaker invites the representative of the Government not to deviate from the rules of parliamentary behavior ''. Now constitutional community highlights changes also in this role. Canada In Canada, the Speaker of the House of Commons is the individual elected to preside over the House of Commons, the elected lower house. The speaker is a Member of Parliament ( MP ) and is elected at the beginning of each new parliament by fellow MPs. The Speaker 's role in presiding over Canada 's House of Commons is similar to that of speakers elsewhere in other countries that use the Westminster system. The Speaker does not vote except in the case of a tie. By convention, if required to vote, the Speaker will vote in favour of continuing debate on a matter, but will not ultimately vote for a measure to be approved. The Speaker of the Senate of Canada is the presiding officer of the Senate of Canada, the appointed upper house. The Speaker represents the Senate at official functions, rules on questions of parliamentary procedure and parliamentary privilege, and presides over debates and voting in the `` Red Chamber ''. The Speaker of the Senate is appointed by the Governor General of Canada from amongst sitting senators upon the advice of the Prime Minister. The Speaker has a vote on all matters. In the event of a tie, the matter fails. At the provincial level, the presiding officer of the provincial legidslatures is called the `` Speaker '' in all provinces except Quebec, where the term `` President '' is used. The presiding officer fulfills the same role as the Speaker of the House of Commons. Singapore In Singapore, the Speaker of the Parliament of Singapore is the head officer of the country 's legislature. By recent tradition, the Prime Minister nominates a person, who may or may not be an elected Member of Parliament ( MP ), for the role. The person 's name is then proposed and seconded by the MPs, before being elected as Speaker. The Constitution states that Parliament has the freedom to decide how to elect its Speaker. While the Speaker does not have to be an elected MP, they must possess the qualifications to stand for election as an MP as provided for in the Constitution. The Speaker also can not be a Cabinet Minister or Parliamentary Secretary, and must resign from those positions prior to being elected as Speaker. The Speaker is one of the few public sector roles which allow its office - holder to automatically qualify as a candidate in the Singapore presidential elections. United Kingdom In the United Kingdom, the Speaker of the House of Commons is the individual elected to preside over the elected House of Commons. The speaker is a Member of Parliament ( MP ) and is elected at the beginning of each new parliament by fellow MPs. The Lord Speaker is the presiding officer of the House of Lords. The commonly used `` Speaker of the House of Lords '' is not correct. The presiding officer of the House of Lords was until recently the Lord Chancellor, who was also a member of the government ( a cabinet member ) and the head of the judicial branch. The Lord Chancellor did not have the same authority to discipline members of the Lords that the speaker of the Commons has in that house. The Lord Speaker is elected by the members of the House of Lords and is expected to be politically impartial. United states Federal The Speaker of the United States House of Representatives presides over the lower house of Congress, the House of Representatives. This post is second in line to the presidency -- after the vice president -- and is therefore the third highest - ranking national office overall. In practice, this post is the highest - ranking in Congress, because the president of the US Senate is the vice president, who has his / her office, and predominant responsibilities, at the White House, and therefore does not have a day - to - day presence at the Congress. States In the forty - nine states that have a bicameral legislature, the highest position in the lower house is usually called the `` speaker ''. In Nebraska -- the only state with a unicameral legislature -- the senators elect one senator to serve as `` Speaker of the Nebraska Legislature ''. In Tennessee, the senators elect a `` Speaker of the Senate '' who presides over the Tennessee Senate and serves as lieutenant governor. Similar posts Palace of the Croatian parliament The presiding officer for an upper house of a bicameral legislature usually has a different title, although substantially the same duties. When the upper house is called a senate, the equivalent title is often President of the Senate. Australia, Chile, the United States and many other countries have upper houses with presiding officers titled `` president ''. In several American republics, the vice president of the country serves as the president of the upper house. This pattern is not universal, however. Some upper houses, including those of Canada, have a speaker. The Presiding Officer of the National Assembly for Wales, Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament, and Presiding Officer of the Northern Ireland Assembly fulfill the same role as the speaker. List of current speakers Country Legislature ( or legislative chamber ) Title Incumbent Albania Parliament of Albania Speaker Ilir Meta Armenia National Assembly of Armenia Speaker Hovik Abrahamyan Australia Australian House of Representatives Speaker Tony Smith Austria National Council President of the National Council Doris Bures Bangladesh Jatiya Sangsad Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury Belgium '' Parliament of Belgium Chamber of Representatives of Belgium President ( Voorzitter / Président / Präsident ) Siegfried Bracke ( N - VA ) '' Parliament of Belgium Senate of Belgium President ( Voorzitter / Président / Präsident ) Christine Defraigne ( MR ) '' Brussels - Capital Region Parliament of the Brussels - Capital Region President ( Président / Voorzitter ) Charles Piqué ( PS ) '' Flanders ( Community and Region ) Flemish Parliament President ( Voorzitter ) Jan Peumans ( N - VA ) '' French Community Parliament of the French Community President ( Président ) Philippe Courard ( PS ) '' German - speaking Community Parliament of the German - speaking Community President ( Präsident ) Karl - Heinz Lambertz ( SP ) '' Wallonia Parliament of Wallonia President ( Président / Präsident ) André Antoine ( politician ) ( cdH ) Botswana National Assembly of Botswana Speaker Gladys Kokorwe Bulgaria National Assembly of Bulgaria Chairperson Tsetska Tsacheva Cambodia National Assembly of Cambodia President Heng Samrin Canada '' Parliament of Canada Senate of Canada Speaker ( Président ) George Furey '' Parliament of Canada House of Commons of Canada Speaker ( Président ) Geoff Regan China '' National People 's Congress Standing Committee of the National People 's Congress Chairman Zhang Dejiang '' Hong Kong Legislative Council of Hong Kong President Andrew Leung '' Macau Legislative Assembly of Macau President ( presidente ) Ho Iat Seng Croatia Croatian Parliament ( Sabor ) President Željko Reiner Czech Republic '' Parliament of the Czech Republic Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic Radek Vondráček '' Parliament of the Czech Republic Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic Speaker of the Senate of the Czech Republic Milan Štěch Denmark Parliament of Denmark ( Folketinget ) Speaker Pia Kjærsgaard '' Faroe Islands Parliament of the Faroe Islands ( Løgtingið ) Speaker Páll á Reynatúgvu '' Greenland Parliament of Greenland ( Inatsisartut ) Speaker Lars Emil Johansen Egypt House of Representatives ( Egypt ) Speaker Ali Abdel Aal Estonia Riigikogu Speaker Eiki Nestor Finland Parliament of Finland ( eduskunta / riksdagen ) Speaker Maria Lohela France National Assembly ( Assemblée Nationale ) President Claude Bartolone Ghana Parliament of Ghana Speaker Mrs. Justice Joyce Adeline Bamford - Addo Germany Bundestag President of the Bundestag ( Bundestagspräsident ) Wolfgang Schäuble Greece Vouli President Nikos Voutsis Hungary National Assembly of Hungary ( Magyar Köztársaság Országgyűlése ) President ( elnöke ) László Kövér Iceland Parliament of Iceland Speaker Steingrímur J. Sigfússon India Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan Indonesia People 's Representative Council ( Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat ) Chairman Fadli Zon Ireland Dáil Éireann Head of the Council ( Ceann Comhairle ) Seán Ó Fearghaíl Iran Majlis of Iran Speaker / Chairman ( رئیس ) Ali Larijani Israel Knesset Speaker / Chairman ( יושב - ראש ) Yuli - Yoel Edelstein Italy Italian Chamber of Deputies President Laura Boldrini Japan '' National Diet House of Representatives Speaker Tadamori Oshima '' National Diet House of Councillors Speaker Chuichi Date Kenya '' Parliament of Kenya Senate of Kenya Speaker Kenneth Lusaka '' Parliament of Kenya National Assembly of Kenya Speaker Justin Muturi Kosovo Assembly of Kosovo Chairman Jakup Krasniqi Latvia Saeima Speaker Ināra Mūrniece Lebanon Parliament of Lebanon Speaker Nabih Berri Liechtenstein Landtag of Liechtenstein President Albert Frick Lithuania Seimas Speaker Loreta Graužinienė Libya Council of Deputies President Aguila Saleh Issa Macedonia Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia Speaker Talat Xhaferi Malaysia House of Representatives of Malaysia ( Dewan Rakyat ) Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia Malta House of Representatives of Malta Speaker Angelo Farrugia Mexico Chamber of Deputies ( Cámara de Diputados ) President Ruth Zavaleta Salgado Moldova Parliament President Marian Lupu Montenegro Assembly of Montenegro President Ranko Krivokapić Nepal Parliament of Nepal Speaker Onsari Gharti Magar Netherlands House of Representatives of the Netherlands Speaker Khadija Arib New Zealand House of Representatives Speaker Trevor Mallard Nigeria National Assembly of Nigeria Speaker Yakubu Dogara Norway Stortinget President of the Storting ( Stortingspresident ) Olemic Thommessen North Korea Supreme People 's Assembly Chairman of the Presidium Kim Yong - nam Pakistan National Assembly of Pakistan Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq Paraguay Chamber of Senators of Paraguay President Mario Abdo Benítez Philippines House of Representatives of the Philippines Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez Poland Sejm of the Republic of Poland Marshal Marek Kuchciński Portugal Assembly of the Republic President Eduardo Ferro Rodrigues Romania Chamber of Deputies of Romania President Liviu Dragnea Russia State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin Serbia National Assembly of Serbia President Maja Gojković Singapore Parliament of Singapore Speaker Tan Chuan - Jin Slovakia National Council of the Slovak Republic Speaker Andrej Danko Solomon Islands National Parliament of Solomon Islands Speaker Sir Peter Kenilorea South Africa National Assembly of South Africa Speaker Baleka Mbete South Korea National Assembly of South Korea Speaker Chung Sye - kyun South Sudan National Legislative Assembly of South Sudan Speaker James Wani Igga Spain '' Cortes Generales ( Spanish parliament ) Congress of the Deputies President Ana Pastor '' Cortes Generales ( Spanish parliament ) Spanish Senate President Pío García - Escudero Sri Lanka Parliament of Sri Lanka Speaker Karu Jayasuriya Suriname National Assembly of Suriname ( De Nationale Assemblee ) Chairman Jennifer Simons Sweden Riksdag Speaker Urban Ahlin Switzerland National Council President Jürg Stahl Taiwan Legislative Yuan President Su Jia - chyuan Thailand House of Representatives of Thailand President Somsak Kiatsuranont Tonga Legislative Assembly of Tonga Speaker Sialeʻataongo Tuʻivakanō Ukraine Verkhovna Rada Chairman Andriy Parubiy United Kingdom '' Parliament of the United Kingdom House of Lords of the United Kingdom Lord Speaker Norman Fowler '' Parliament of the United Kingdom House of Commons of the United Kingdom Speaker John Bercow '' Isle of Man House of Keys Speaker Steve Rodan '' Northern Ireland Northern Ireland Assembly Speaker Robin Newton '' Scotland Scottish Parliament Presiding Officer Ken Macintosh '' Wales National Assembly for Wales Presiding Officer Elin Jones United States United States House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan Uruguay Chamber of Deputies of Uruguay President Ivonne Passada Vanuatu Parliament of Vanuatu Speaker George Andre Wells Venezuela National Assembly President Henry Ramos Allup Vietnam National Assembly of Vietnam Chairman Nguyễn Sinh Hùng Zimbabwe House of Assembly of Zimbabwe Speaker Jacob Mudenda See also Generic Speaker of the senate ( disambiguation ) Speaker of the House of Assembly ( disambiguation ) Speaker of the House of Commons ( disambiguation ) Speaker of the House of Representatives ( disambiguation ) Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Speaker of the National Assembly ( disambiguation ) Specific Speaker of the Canadian Senate List of Speakers of the House of Commons of England Cathaoirleach ( Speaker of the Irish Senate ) Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario Speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council Marshal of the Senate of the Republic of Poland Lawspeaker Lord Speaker ( Speaker of the United Kingdom House of Lords ) Speaker of the United States House of Representatives References Jump up ^ As in case of disorders in the floor : Italian traditions knew cases of extreme contestation, not much different from tumults stigmatized in Ukrainian parliaments, Taiwanese and South Korean : Buonomo, Giampiero ( 2014 ). `` I tre giorni della supercazzola ''. L'Ago e il filo edizione online. -- via Questia ( subscription required ) Jump up ^ Journal of the House of Commons : January 1559 ; 1559 ; accessed August 2015 Jump up ^ Lee Vol 28, pp. 257,258. Jump up ^ Mancini and Galeotti believed that `` in the enclosure of the House the exercise of presidential power should not be limits or obstacles whatsoever '' ( Mancini - Galeotti, Norme ed usi del Parlamento italiano, Roma, 1887, pag. 97 ). Jump up ^ ( in Spanish ) Sanciones disciplinarias y policía interna en el ordenamiento parlamentario italiano ' ' AA. VV., Derecho parlamentario sancionador ' ', Eusko Legebiltazarra, Parlamento Vasco ed., 2005p. 236 - 271 Jump up ^ F. Bilancia, L'imparzialità perduta ( a proposito dei Presidenti di Assemblea parlamentare ), in Aa. Vv., Studi in onore di Gianni Ferrara, vol. I, Giappichelli, Torino 2005, pp. 311 ss... Jump up ^ Lee, Min Kok ( 8 January 2016 ). `` Halimah Yacob to be renominated as Speaker of Parliament : 7 things you may not know about the post ''. The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 7 August 2017. Retrieved 7 August 2017. Jump up ^ Constitution of the Republic of Singapore, Art. 40 ( 2 ). Jump up ^ `` Speaker of Parliament ''. Parliament of Singapore. Archived from the original on 7 August 2017. Retrieved 7 August 2017. Jump up ^ Constitution of the Republic of Singapore, Art. 40 ( 2 ). Jump up ^ Constitution of the Republic of Singapore, Art. 19 ( 3 ) ( a ). Jump up ^ `` Shirin to become first woman Speaker ''. bdnews24.com. 29 April 2013. Retrieved 29 April 2013. Jump up ^ `` 01 September confirmed as date for Vanuatu Presidential Election ''. Islands Business. 2009 - 09 - 02. Retrieved 2009 - 08 - 20. Further reading Bergougnous, Georges. Presiding Officers of National Parliamentary Assemblies : A World Comparative Study. Trans. Jennifer Lorenzi. Geneva : Inter-Parliamentary Union, 1997. ISBN 92 - 9142 - 028 - X. Green, Matthew N. The Speaker of the House : A Study of Leadership ( Yale University Press ; 2010 ) 292 pages ; US House Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Speaker_(politics)&oldid=819063263 '' Categories : Chairs of lower houses Legislative speakers Parliamentary titles Legislatures Government occupations Positions of authority Legal professions Hidden categories : Subscription required using via Pages containing links to subscription - only content Articles with Spanish - language external links Articles containing Italian - language text Articles with limited geographic scope from September 2015 Anglophone - centric Talk Contents About Wikipedia Afrikaans বাংলা Bân - lâm - gú Беларуская Беларуская ( тарашкевіца ) ‎ Deutsch Eesti Esperanto 한국어 Bahasa Indonesia Italiano ಕನ್ನಡ Қазақша Kiswahili മലയാളം 日本 語 Norsk Română Русский Simple English Suomi Svenska Українська 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 7 January 2018, at 05 : 50. About Wikipedia

Question: who is the presiding officer of the legislative house
Answer: Speaker of the United States House of Representatives