# Legislator

A legislator, or lawmaker, is a person who writes and passes laws, especially someone who is a member of a legislature. Legislators are often elected by the people, but they can be appointed, or hereditary. Legislatures may be supra-national (for example, the European Parliament), national, such as the Japanese Diet, sub-national as in provinces, or local.

## Overview

The political theory of the separation of powers requires legislators to be independent individuals from the members of the executive and the judiciary. Certain political systems adhere to this principle, others do not. In the United Kingdom and other countries using the Westminster system, for example, the executive is formed almost exclusively from legislators (members of the parliament), and the executive Cabinet itself has delegated legislative power.
In continental European jurisprudence and legal discussion, "the legislator" (le législateur) is the abstract entity that has produced the laws. When there is room for interpretation, the intent of the legislator will be questioned, and the court is directed to rule in the direction it judges to best fit the legislative intent, which can be difficult in the case of conflicting laws or constitutional provisions.

## Terminology

The local term for a legislator is usually a derivation of the local term for the relevant legislature. Typical examples include
* Parliament: member of parliament
* Assembly: member of the assembly
* Legislature: member of the legislature
* Congress: member of congress
* Senate: senator
* House of Representatives: representative
* The generic term "deputy" may also be used, deriving from the concept that the legislator is "deputising" for the electorate of their electoral district.

### By country

This is an incomplete list of terms for a national legislator:
| Country | Title | Legislature |
| Algeria | نواب (Député) | People's National Assembly |
| Argentina | Diputado Nacional | Chamber of Deputies |
| Argentina | Senador | Senate |
| Argentina | Diputado provincial | Several provincial Chambers of Deputies |
| Belarus | Дэпутат (deputat) | House of Representatives |
| Belgium | Provincial executive member: Gedeputeerde (Dutch) / Député (French) / Deputierter (German) | Deputation / Provincial College (provincial executive body) |
| Belgium | In French, député is sometimes also used to denote a member of parliament. | Chamber of Representatives or a regional parliament |
| Bolivia | Diputado/Diputada | Chamber of Deputies |
| Brazil | Deputado estadual/distrital | Legislative Assemblies |
| Brazil | Deputado federal | Chamber of Deputies |
| Brazil | Senador | Federal Senate |
| Bulgaria | Депутат (Deputat) | National Assembly |
| Canada | Senator, Sénateur | Senate of Canada |
| Canada | Member of Parliament (MP) / Député | House of Commons of Canada |
| Chile | Diputado/Diputada | Chamber of Deputies |
| Chile | Senador/Senadora | Senate |
| China | Deputy (人大代表) | National People's Congress |
| Colombia | Diputado/Diputada | Departamental Assemblies |
| Costa Rica | Diputado/Diputada | Legislative Assembly |
| Denmark | Folketingsmedlem | Folketinget |
| Dominican Republic | Diputado/Diputada | Chamber of Deputies of the Dominican Republic |
| Ecuador | Asambleísta (before 2007, diputado) | National Assembly |
| El Salvador | Diputado/Diputada | Legislative Assembly |
| France | Député/Députée | National Assembly |
| France | Sénateur/Sénatrice | Senate |
| Germany | Gesetzgeber | Bundestag |
| Guatemala | Diputado/Diputada | Congress of the Republic |
| Guernsey | People's Deputy | States of Guernsey |
| Haiti | Député | Chamber of Deputies |
| Honduras | Diputado/Diputada | National Congress |
| India | Member of Parliament | Lok Sabha |
| Iran | مجلس شورای اسلامی | Islamic Consultative Assembly |
| Ireland | Senators / Seanadóirí | Seanad Éireann |
| Ireland | Teachta Dála (TD) | Dáil Éireann |
| Italy | Deputato | Chamber of Deputies |
| Jersey | Deputy | States Assembly |
| Kazakhstan | Депутат (deputat) | Mäjilis |
| Latvia | Deputāts | Saeima |
| Lebanon | Député/النواب (Nuwwab, or deputy) | Parliament |
| Luxembourg | Deputéierten / Député | Chamber of Deputies |
| Mexico | Diputado/Diputada | Chamber of Deputies |
| Netherlands | Gedeputeerde | Provincial executive (European Netherlands) |
| Netherlands | Eilandgedeputeerde | Bestuurscollege (Caribbean Netherlands) |
| Nicaragua | Diputado/Diputada | National Assembly |
| North Korea | Deputy (대의원; taeŭiwŏn) | Supreme People's Assembly |
| Panama | Diputado/Diputada | National Assembly |
| Paraguay | Diputado/Diputada | Chamber of Deputies |
| Portugal | Deputado | Assembly of the Republic |
| Romania | Deputat | Chamber of Deputies |
| Russia | Депутат (deputat) | State Duma and regional legislative bodies |
| Somalia | Deputy | Federal Parliament |
| Spain | Diputado/Diputada | Congress of Deputies |
| Thailand | Senator (วุฒิสมาชิก; ส.ว.) | Senate |
| Thailand | Member of the H.R. (สมาชิกสภาผู้แทนราษฎร; ส.ส.) | House of Representatives |
| Ukraine | People's Deputy of Ukraine (Депутат) | Verkhovna Rada |
| United Kingdom | Lords Spiritual and Lords Temporal | House of Lords |
| United Kingdom | Member of Parliament (MP) | House of Commons |
| United States of America | Senator | Senate |
| United States of America | Representative; Congressperson | House of Representatives |
| Uruguay | Diputado/Diputada | Chamber of Representatives |
| Venezuela | Diputado/Diputada | National Assembly |
| Vietnam | Đại biểu Quốc hội | National Assembly |

## Substitute legislator

Some legislatures provide each legislator with an official "substitute legislator" who deputises for the legislator in the legislature if the elected representative is unavailable. Venezuela, for example, provides for substitute legislators (diputado suplente) to be elected under Article 186 of its 1999 constitution. Ecuador, Panama, and the U.S. state of Idaho also have substitute legislators.