List of speakers of the United States House of Representatives
The speaker of the United States House of Representatives is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives. The office was established in 1789 by of the U.S. Constitution. The speaker is the political and parliamentary leader of the House, and is simultaneously the body's presiding officer, the "de facto" leader of the body's majority party, and the institution's administrative head. Speakers also perform various administrative and procedural functions, all in addition to representing their own congressional district. Given these several roles and responsibilities, the  speaker usually does not personally preside over debates. That duty is instead delegated to members of the House from the majority party. Neither does the speaker regularly participate in floor debates. Additionally, the speaker is second in the presidential line of succession, after the vice president and ahead of the president "pro tempore" of the Senate. The House elects a new speaker by roll call vote when it first convenes after a general election for its two-year term, or when a speaker dies, resigns or is removed from the position intra-term. A majority of votes cast (as opposed  to a majority of the full membership of the House) is necessary to elect a speaker. If no candidate receives a majority vote, then the roll call is repeated until a speaker is elected. The Constitution does not require the speaker to be an incumbent member of the House, although every speaker thus far has been. The current speaker of the House, Democrat Nancy Pelosi of California, was elected to a fourth (second consecutive) term in office on January 3, 2021, the first day of the 117th Congress. She is the only woman to have served as speaker. Altogether, 54  individuals, from 23 of the 50 states, have served as speaker of the House. The number from each state are: One speaker, James K. Polk, subsequently served as President of the United States, the only one to serve in both offices, and two speakers, Schuyler Colfax and John Nance Garner, later became Vice president. The longest serving speaker was Sam Rayburn17 years, 53 days. Elected 10 times, he led the House three times: from September 1940 to January 1947; January 1949 to January 1953; and January 1955 to November 1961. Tip O'Neill had the longest uninterrupted tenure as speaker9 years , 350 days. Elected five times, he led the House from January 1977 to January 1987. Theodore M. Pomeroy had the shortest tenure; elected speaker on March 3, 1869, he served one day. List of speakers. The House has elected a speaker 126 times since 1789: at the start of each of the 117 congresses, plus on 10 occasions when a vacancy arose during a Congress via death or resignation. Of the 54 people who have served as speaker of the House over the past years, 32 served multiple terms, and seven of them served nonconsecutive terms: Frederick Muhlenberg, Henry Clay , John W. Taylor, Thomas Brackett Reed, Joseph W. Martin Jr., Sam Rayburn, and Nancy Pelosi. Altogether, there have been 63 occasions on which a new speaker took office. Every speaker of the House has been a member of a political party or faction; the number affiliated with each is: As of 2022, there are four living former speakers of the House: Newt Gingrich, Dennis Hastert, John Boehner, and Paul Ryan. Nancy Pelosi was also among this group, prior to reassuming the office in January 2019. Speakers by time in office. The length of time given below is based on the  difference between dates; if counted by number of calendar days all the figures would be one greater. Also, as many speakers were elected multiple times, and to terms that were, in several instances, not consecutive, the length of time given for each speaker measures their cumulative length of incumbency as speaker. Further, time after adjournment of one Congress but before the convening of the next Congress is not counted. For example, Nathaniel Macon was speaker in both the and Congresses, but the eight-month gap between the two Congresses is not counted toward his service. The exact dates of service  for each individual speaker is shown in the "Term of service" column of the above table.