# President of the Victorian Legislative Council

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 upper house of the Parliament of Victoria and equivalent to the President of the Australian Senate. 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.

## 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 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.
| Ordinal | President | Party (if applicable) | Term start | Term end | Time in office |
| 1 | Sir James Frederick Palmer | no party alignment | 21 November 1856 (1856-11-21) | 1 August 1870 (1870-08-01) | 13 years, 253 days |
| 2 | Sir William Mitchell | no party alignment | 27 October 1870 (1870-10-27) | 24 November 1884 (1884-11-24) | 14 years, 28 days |
| 3 | Sir James MacBain | no party alignment | 27 November 1884 (1884-11-27) | 8 November 1892 (1892-11-08) | 7 years, 347 days |
| 4 | Sir William Zeal | no party alignment | 10 November 1892 (1892-11-10) | 31 May 1901 (1901-05-31) | 8 years, 202 days |
| 5 | Sir Henry John Wrixon | no party alignment | 18 June 1901 (1901-06-18) | 28 June 1910 (1910-06-28) | 9 years, 10 days |
| 6 | Sir John Mark Davies | no party alignment | 6 July 1910 (1910-07-06) | 30 June 1919 (1919-06-30) | 8 years, 359 days |
| 7 | Sir Walter Manifold | Nationalist | 8 July 1919 (1919-07-08) | 28 August 1923 (1923-08-28) | 4 years, 51 days |
| 8 | Sir Frank Clarke | NationalistUnited Australia PartyLiberal | 29 August 1923 (1923-08-29) | 30 June 1943 (1943-06-30) | 19 years, 305 days |
| 9 | Sir Clifden Eager | Nationalist Party of AustraliaLiberalLiberal & Country | 29 June 1943 (1943-06-29) | 30 June 1958 (1958-06-30) | 15 years, 1 day |
| 10 | Sir Gordon McArthur | Liberal & CountryLiberal | 8 July 1958 (1958-07-08) | 10 August 1965 (1965-08-10) | 7 years, 33 days |
| 11 | Sir Ronald Mack | Liberal | 14 September 1965 (1965-09-14) | 12 February 1968 (1968-02-12) | 2 years, 151 days |
| 12 | Sir Raymond Garrett | Liberal | 20 February 1968 (1968-02-20) | 30 June 1976 (1976-06-30) | 8 years, 131 days |
| 13 | William Fry | Liberal | 29 June 1976 (1976-06-29) | 1 July 1979 (1979-07-01) | 3 years, 2 days |
| 14 | Fred Grimwade | Liberal | 18 July 1979 (1979-07-18) | 15 July 1985 (1985-07-15) | 5 years, 362 days |
| 15 | Rod Mackenzie | Labor | 16 July 1985 (1985-07-16) | 24 October 1988 (1988-10-24) | 3 years, 100 days |
| 16 | Alan Hunt | Liberal | 25 October 1988 (1988-10-25) | 26 October 1992 (1992-10-26) | 4 years, 1 day |
| 17 | Bruce Chamberlain | Liberal | 27 October 1992 (1992-10-27) | 24 February 2003 (2003-02-24) | 10 years, 120 days |
| 18 | Monica Gould | Labor | 25 February 2003 (2003-02-25) | 18 December 2006 (2006-12-18) | 3 years, 296 days |
| 19 | Bob Smith | Labor | 19 December 2006 (2006-12-19) | 20 December 2010 (2010-12-20) | 4 years, 1 day |
| 20 | Bruce Atkinson | Liberal | 21 December 2010 (2010-12-21) | 19 December 2018 (2018-12-19) | 7 years, 363 days |
| 21 | Shaun Leane | Labor | 19 December 2018 (2018-12-19) | 18 June 2020 (2020-06-18) | 1 year, 182 days |
| 22 | Nazih Elasmar | Labor | 18 June 2020 (2020-06-18) | 20 December 2022 (2022-12-20) | 4 years, 95 days |
| (21) | Shaun Leane | Labor | 20 December 2022 (2022-12-20) | Incumbent | 1 year, 276 days |