# President of the Western Australian Legislative Council

The President of the Western Australian Legislative Council, also known as the Presiding Officer of the Council, is the presiding officer of the Western Australian Legislative Council, the upper house of the Parliament of Western Australia. The position is analogous to that of the President of the Australian Senate.

## The role of the president

The President is always a Member of the Western Australian Legislative Council, and is the ceremonial head of that Council. The President therefore performs ceremonial duties, and represents the Council to other organisations. In conjunction with the Speaker of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly, the President is responsible for the administration of the Western Australian Parliament. When the Council is sitting, the President enforces procedures, maintains order, puts questions after debate and ensures each member of the chamber gets a fair opportunity to speak to matters under debate. The President also makes decisions and formal rulings with regards to the chamber's standing orders.

## Election of the president

The President of the Legislative Council is elected by the other members of the Council in accordance with Section 49 of the Constitution Act 1889. They must be elected after each general election or upon the death, resignation or removal of a previous President, and can be brought down by a vote of the chamber's members (although this has never happened in Western Australia), so must maintain the confidence of the chamber.

## 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 their career as a Member of the Legislative Council.
| Order | President | Party (if applicable) | Term begin | Term end | Term in office |
| 1 | Sir Thomas Cockburn-Campbell | N/A | 29 December 1890 | 27 September 1892 | 1 year, 273 days |
| 2 | Sir George Shenton | N/A | 11 October 1892 | 21 May 1906 | 13 years, 222 days |
| 3 | Sir Henry Briggs | Independent | 21 June 1906 | 8 June 1919 | 12 years, 352 days |
| 4 | Sir Walter Kingsmill | Independent | 31 July 1919 | 21 May 1922 | 2 years, 294 days |
| 5 | Sir Edward Wittenoom | Nationalist | 27 July 1922 | 9 August 1926 | 4 years, 43 days |
| 6 | Sir John Kirwan | Independent | 10 August 1926 | 21 May 1946 | 19 years, 284 days |
| 7 | James Cornell | Liberal | 25 July 1946 | 25 November 1946 | 123 days |
| 8 | Sir Harold Seddon | Liberal | 26 November 1946 | 21 May 1954 | 7 years, 176 days |
| 9 | Anthony Loton | Country | 14 June 1954 | 6 August 1958 | 4 years, 53 days |
| 10 | Sir Charles Latham | Country | 7 August 1958 | 21 May 1960 | 1 year, 288 days |
| 11 | Sir Leslie Diver | Country | 28 July 1960 | 21 May 1974 | 13 years, 297 days |
| 12 | Sir Arthur Griffith | Liberal | 22 May 1974 | 21 May 1977 | 2 years, 364 days |
| 13 | Clive Edward Griffiths | Liberal | 24 May 1977 | 21 May 1997 | 19 years, 362 days |
| 14 | George Cash | Liberal | 27 May 1997 | 21 May 2001 | 3 years, 359 days |
| 15 | John Cowdell | Labor | 22 May 2001 | 21 May 2005 | 3 years, 364 days |
| 16 | Nick Griffiths | Labor | 24 May 2005 | 21 May 2009 | 3 years, 362 days |
| 17 | Barry House | Liberal | 22 May 2009 | 21 May 2017 | 7 years, 364 days |
| 18 | Kate Doust | Labor | 23 May 2017 | 21 May 2021 | 3 years, 363 days |
| 19 | Alanna Clohesy | Labor | 25 May 2021 | present | 3 years, 182 days |