Speaker (politics)

The Speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer (chair). The title was first used in 1377 in England.

Usage

The speaker's official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the powers to discipline members who break the procedures of the house. The speaker often also represents the body in person, as the voice of the body in ceremonial and some other situations. The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerford in the Parliament of England.

By convention, Speakers are normally addressed in Parliament as 'Mister Speaker', if a man, or 'Madam Speaker', if a woman. In other cultures other styles are used, mainly being equivalents of English "chairman" or "president". Many bodies also have a speaker pro tempore (or deputy speaker), designated to fill in when the speaker is not available.

Australia

The Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives is the presiding officer of the Australian House of Representatives, the lower house of the Parliament of Australia. The current Speaker has been Tony Smith since 10 August 2015, after the resignation of embattled speaker Bronwyn Bishop.

Pro tempore

Pro tempore (/ˌproʊ ˈtɛmpəri/, /ˌproʊ ˈtɛmpərɛ/ or /ˌproʊ ˈtɛmpəreɪ/), abbreviated pro tem or p.t., is a Latin phrase which best translates to "for the time being" in English. This phrase is often used to describe a person who acts as a locum tenens (placeholder) in the absence of a superior, such as the President pro tempore of the United States Senate, who acts in place of the President of the United States Senate, the Vice President of the United States.

Legislative bodies can have one or more pro tempore for the presiding officer. These positions ostensibly go to legislators experienced in floor debate who are familiar with the content and application of relevant rules and precedents and who have a reputation for fairness among their colleagues.

Mayor pro tem

A common use of pro tempore in the United States is in municipalities such as cities and towns with regard to the position of the mayor. Some cities do not have a position of vice mayor, but rather appoint a person from the city council to act as mayor pro tempore (pro tem) in the absence of the actual mayor.

Pro tempore (journal)

Pro tempore is a Croatian academic journal. It covers topics in Croatian and world history, and historiography, publishing a selection of articles, interviews, essays, in memoriams and book reviews. Since 2008 each issue has dealt with a specific topic in history, such as the early modern period, cultural history, gender history, business history and the Annales School. Also, since 2009 many international scholars have published their contributions. The historical journal, founded in 2004 by students, is published by ISHA-Zagreb (the Zagreb section of the International Students of History Association) at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, and its current editor in chief is Tomislav Branđolica. The journal is published once or twice a year in Croatian, with some articles in English. Since 2010, the editorial board consists of: Tomislav Branđolica (chief editor), Kristina Frančina, Marta Fiolić, Marko Lovrić, Valentina Nedeljko, Porin Šćukanec Rezniček, Nikola Seiwerth, Filip Šimetin Šegvić and Nikolina Šimetin Šegvić.