The term speaker is usually the title given to the presiding officer of a state's lower house (under various names, e.g. House of Commons, House of Representatives) in a bicameral parliament or congress.

As a parliamentary title it is typically Anglo-Saxon, first recorded in the English parliament for Thomas de Hungerford in 1377; in most other cultures other styles are used, mainly translations of Chairman or President. However the term is also used to render comparable positions elsewhere, even in unicameral legislatures. In most cases the speaker is elected from among the members of the assembly by the members, and whips are not allowed to be among the selection. A speaker from the ruling party is usually chosen.

In many nations, especially those with the Westminster System of government, the position of Speaker, modeled after the British office, is an official charged with enforcing procedural rules. The speaker decides who may speak and has the powers to discipline members who break the procedures of the house. Ideally, the speaker in a Westminster-derived legislature is politically neutral and is not concerned with substantive issues. In the event of a tie, the speaker is permitted to vote but only according to established conventions.

Despite being an impartial position, the Speaker in a Westminster system parliament has to stand for re-election if he wishes to stay. In the Republic of Ireland the Speaker (Ceann Comhairle) is deemed to have been elected if he seeks re-election; in the United Kingdom it is a constitutional convention that no major party will put up a candidate against the 'Speaker seeking re-election'. However in recent times the Scottish National Party has put up candidates against the incumbent speaker (Michael Martin).

Often the speaker performs his duties in a non-partisan manner, but in the United States, the Speaker is the most powerful position in the United States House of Representatives and participates in legislating.

It is fairly rare for an upper house to use the style speaker. For example, the upper houses in Australia and Chile have presidents. Examples of upper house leaders being styled "Speaker" include several U.S. state legislatures, and the presiding officer of the Canadian Senate. In the UK, the Lord Chancellor (a cabinet member) still serves as Speaker of the House of Lords but recent reforms to that office mean that a new position of Lord Speaker has been created, with the results of the first election for that office due to be announced on the 4 July 2006 //www.parliament.uk/documents/upload/HofLnotice110506_brief.pdf

See also

• Speaker of the British House of Commons
• Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons
• Speaker of the Canadian Senate
• Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives
• Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives
• Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
• Ceann Comhairle (Speaker of the Irish Dáil)
• Speaker of Lok Sabha (House of the People, India)
• Marshal of the Sejm, Poland
• President of the National Assembly of Quebec
• Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
• Speaker of the Riksdag (Speaker of the Swedish parliament)
• Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament
• Speaker of the South African National Assembly
• Speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council
• Israeli 'Knesset' speakers
• President of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong

Parliamentary titles | Government occupations | Legislative Speakers | Legal occupations

Speaker | Presidente de la Cámara | 議長 | Talman