Speaker of the House of Assembly

Speaker of the House of Assembly
Incumbent Helen Carter-Jones since 8 April 2012
Style	Madam Speaker
Nominator	Members of the House of Assembly
Appointer	Geoffrey VII as The Sovereign
Term length	Elected at start of each Parliament
Inaugural	William Parry
Formation	29 April 1854
Salary	£9,434 (=2nd)

The Speaker of the House of Assembly is the presiding officer of the House of Assembly.

Function and powers

The Speaker must be politically neutral and is not concerned with substantive issues that are debated before the Assembly. In the event of a tie, the Speaker is permitted to vote, but only according to established conventions. Inside the Assembly chamber the Speaker's most visible role is that of presiding over the Assembly when in session. This involves overseeing the order in which business is conducted, and determining who should speak at what time. The Speaker is also responsible for granting or declining requests for certain events, such as a snap debate on a particular issue. An important part of the Speaker's role is ruling on matters of procedure known as 'Points of order' based on Standing Orders and previously made Speaker's Rulings. This has a large bearing on the smooth running of each parliamentary session. The Speaker also has the power to discipline members who break the procedures of the Assembly. Included in these rules are powers to ensure reasonable behaviour by MHAs, including the ability to remove disruptive MHAs from the debating chamber. The Speaker presides over the business of Parliament from the elevated 'Speaker's Chair' behind The Table in the debating chamber.

Outside the chamber the Speaker is also responsible for administering the upkeep and security of the buildings and grounds of Parliament (including the Central Block, East Block, West Block and the Parliamentary Library buildings). These duties are mainly fulfilled through presiding over select committees, including the Standing Orders Committee, the Business Committee, and The Officers of Parliament Committee. The Speaker also chairs the Parliamentary Service Commission.

The Speaker is ranked fifth among the High Officers of State in the order of precedence, sitting between the Vice-President of the Executive Council and the Chief Justice of New Ingrea.

Election

The Speaker is always a Member of the House of Assembly, and is elected by the Assembly at the beginning of a parliamentary term. Candidates need to be nominated by at least twelve members, of whom at least three must be of a different party than the candidate. Each member may nominate no more than one candidate. The Assembly then votes by secret ballot; an absolute majority is required for victory. If no candidate wins a majority, then the individual with the fewest votes is eliminated, as are any candidates who receive less than five percent of the votes cast. The Assembly continues to vote, for several rounds if necessary, until one member receives the requisite majority.

If only one candidate is nominated, then no ballot is held, and the Assembly proceeds directly to the motion to appoint the candidate to the Speakership. A similar procedure is used if a Speaker seeks a further term after a general election: no ballot is held, and the Assembly immediately votes on a motion to re-elect the Speaker. If the motion to re-elect the Speaker fails, candidates are nominated, and the Assembly proceeds with voting as described above.

Upon the passage of the motion, the Speaker-elect is expected to show reluctance at being chosen; he or she is customarily dragged by colleagues to the Chair. This custom is a relic of the era when the Speaker, as representative of the Ingerish House of Commons, could have been required to bear bad news to the Sovereign.

List of Speakers

36 people have held the office of Speaker since the creation of Parliament in 1854. The term of a speaker is given to begin the day of his election, and end the day of the election of his successor, even if the incumbent is no longer a member of parliament.

#	Name	Party affiliation		In office	Duration
1	William Parry (3 February 1803 - 27 October 1863)		Non-aligned	29 April 1854 -
31	Owen Kent (15 June 1925 - 29 April 2009)		Independent	12 May 1975 - 18 May 1980
32	Timothy Rowan (24 August 1929 - 4 January 1993)		Independent	18 May 1980 - 3 April 1988	7 years, 10 months, 16 days
33	Louise Norris (born 16 September 1940)		Independent	3 April 1988 - 31 March 1996	7 years, 11 months, 28 days
34	Garry Beckett (born 22 December 1948)		Independent	31 March 1996 - 4 April 2004	8 years, 4 days
35	Henry Unsworth (born 7 March 1951)		Independent	4 April 2004 - 8 April 2012	8 years, 4 days
36	Helen Carter-Jones (born 6 April 1956)		Independent	8 April 2012 - Present	Incumbent