Italian Senate
| Senate of the Republic Senato della Repubblica |
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| Type | |
| Type | Upper house |
| Leadership | |
| President of the Senate | Renato Schifani, PdL since April 29, 2008 |
| Structure | |
| Members | 315 7 lifetime senators |
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| Political groups | Pdl 146 PD 119 LN 26 Idv 14 UDC - SVP and autonomists 11 Mixed group 6 |
| Election | |
| Last election | April 13-14, 2008 |
| Meeting place | |
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| Palazzo Madama, Rome | |
| Website | |
| http://www.senato.it | |
| Italian Republic |
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The Senate of the Republic (Italian: Senato della Repubblica) is the upper house of the Parliament of Italy. It was established in its current form on 8 May 1948, but it existed during the monarchy as Senato del Regno, (the "Senate of the Kingdom"), continuing from the Subalpine Parliament of Piedmont established on 8 May 1848.
The Senate consists of 315 elected members (senatori), elected for a maximum of 5 years, of whom six represent Italians residing overseas. Senators must be 40 years of age or older, and are elected by citizens 25 years of age or over. According to special constitutional provisions, 'life senators' may exist, either former presidents, as ex officio life senators, or those appointed by the president "for outstanding merits in the social, scientific, artistic or literary field". As of 2006[update], there are seven life senators: Francesco Cossiga (former President), Oscar Luigi Scalfaro (former President), Giulio Andreotti (former Prime Minister), Rita Levi Montalcini (Nobel Prize winner for Medicine 1986), Emilio Colombo (former Prime Minister), Sergio Pininfarina (Designer), Carlo Azeglio Ciampi (former President). Giorgio Napolitano (former President of the Chamber of Deputies and former leader of the Communist Party), currently President of the Republic, is no longer a member of the Senate, and will be able to resume his duties as a senator in 2013 at the earliest. The Italian Senate is unusual among Upper Houses in that it has almost the same power as its Lower counterpart: other than the budget, any law can be initiated in either house, and must be approved in the same form by both houses; additionally the Government must have the consent of both to remain in office (this situation is called "perfect bicameralism").
The seat of the senate is Palazzo Madama in Rome.
The Senate may be dissolved before the expiration of its normal term by the President of the Republic, when no government can obtain a majority.
Contents |
Presidents
Under the current Constitution, the Senate must hold its first sitting no later than 20 days after a general election. That session, presided by the oldest senator, proceeds to elect the President of the Senate for the following parliamentary period. On the first two attempts at voting, an absolute majority of all senators is needed; if a third round is needed, a candidate can be elected by an absolute majority of the senators present and voting. If this third round fails to produce a winner, a final ballot is held between the two senators with the highest votes in the previous ballot. In the case of a tie, the elder senator is deemed the winner.
In addition to overseeing the business of the chamber, chairing and regulating debates, deciding whether motions and bills are admissible, representing the Senate, etc., the President of the Senate stands in for the President of the Republic when the president is unable to perform the duties of the office. The current President of the Senate (since 29 April 2008) is Renato Schifani.
Kingdom of Sardinia (1848-1860)
| President | From | To | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Legislature | |||
| Gaspare Coller | 1848 | 1848 | |
| 2nd Legislature | |||
| Giuseppe Manno | 1849 | 1849 | |
| 3rd Legislature | |||
| Giuseppe Manno | 1849 | 1849 | |
| 4th Legislature | |||
| Giuseppe Manno | 1849 | 1853 | |
| 5th Legislature | |||
| Giuseppe Manno | 1853 | 1855 | |
| Cesare Alfieri di Sostegno | 1855 | 1857 | |
| 6th Legislature | |||
| Cesare Alfieri di Sostegno | 1857 | 1860 | |
| 7th Legislature | |||
| Cesare Alfieri di Sostegno | 1860 | 1860 |
Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946)
| President | From | To | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8th Legislature | |||
| Ruggero Settimo | 1861 | 1863 | Died during mandate |
| Federico Sclopis | 1863 | 1864 | |
| Giuseppe Manno | 1864 | 1865 | |
| 9th Legislature | |||
| Gabrio Casati | 1865 | 1867 | |
| 10th Legislature | |||
| Gabrio Casati | 1867 | 1870 | |
| 11th Legislature | |||
| Vincenzo Fardella di Torrearsa | 1870 | 1874 | |
| 12th Legislature | |||
| Luigi Des Ambrois | 1874 | 1874 | Died during mandate |
| Giuseppe Pasolini | 1874 | 1876 | |
| 13th Legislature | |||
| Sebastiano Tecchio | 1876 | 1880 | |
| 14th Legislature | |||
| Sebastiano Tecchio | 1880 | 1882 | |
| 15th Legislature | |||
| Sebastiano Tecchio | 1882 | 1884 | |
| Giacomo Durando | 1884 | 1886 | |
| 16th Legislature | |||
| Giacomo Durando | 1886 | 1887 | |
| Domenico Farini | 1887 | 1890 | |
| 17th Legislature | |||
| Domenico Farini | 1890 | 1892 | |
| 18th Legislature | |||
| Domenico Farini | 1892 | 1895 | |
| 19th Legislature | |||
| Domenico Farini | 1895 | 1897 | |
| 20th Legislature | |||
| Domenico Farini | 1897 | 1898 | |
| Giuseppe Saracco | 1898 | 1900 | |
| 21st Legislature | |||
| Giuseppe Saracco | 1900 | 1904 | |
| 22nd Legislature | |||
| Tancredi Canonico | 1904 | 1908 | Died during mandate |
| Giuseppe Manfredi | 1908 | 1909 | |
| 23rd Legislature | |||
| Giuseppe Manfredi | 1909 | 1913 | |
| 24th Legislature | |||
| Giuseppe Manfredi | 1913 | 1918 | Died during mandate |
| Adeodato Bonasi | 1918 | 1919 | |
| 25th Legislature | |||
| Tommaso Tittoni | 1919 | 1921 | |
| 26th Legislature | |||
| Tommaso Tittoni | 1921 | 1924 | |
| 27th Legislature | |||
| Tommaso Tittoni | 1924 | 1929 | |
| 28th Legislature | |||
| Luigi Federzoni | 1929 | 1934 | |
| 29th Legislature | |||
| Luigi Federzoni | 1934 | 1939 | |
| 30th Legislature | |||
| Giacomo Suardo | 1939 | 1943 | |
| Paolo Thaon di Revel | 1943 | 1944 | |
| Pietro Tomasi Della Torretta | 1944 | 1946 |
Italian Republic (1948-)
| President | From | To | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Legislature | |||
| Ivanoe Bonomi | 8 May 1948 | 20 April 1951 | died during mandate |
| Enrico De Nicola | 28 April 1951 | 24 June 1952 | resigned |
| Giuseppe Paratore | 26 June 1952 | 23 March 1953 | resigned |
| Luigi Gasparotto | 24 March 1953 | 25 March 1953 | renounced |
| Meuccio Ruini | 25 March 1953 | 24 June 1953 | |
| 2nd Legislature | |||
| Cesare Merzagora | 25 June 1953 | 11 June 1958 | |
| 3rd Legislature | |||
| Cesare Merzagora | 12 June 1958 | 15 May 1963 | |
| 4th Legislature | |||
| Cesare Merzagora | 16 May 1963 | 7 November 1967 | resigned |
| Ennio Zelioli-Lanzini | 8 November 1967 | 4 June 1968 | |
| 5th Legislature | |||
| Amintore Fanfani | 5 June 1968 | 24 May 1972 | |
| 6th Legislature | |||
| Amintore Fanfani | 25 May 1972 | 26 June 1973 | resigned |
| Giovanni Spagnolli | 27 June 1973 | 4 July 1976 | |
| 7th Legislature | |||
| Amintore Fanfani | 5 July 1976 | 19 June 1979 | |
| 8th Legislature | |||
| Amintore Fanfani | 20 June 1979 | 1 December 1982 | resigned once elected Prime Minister |
| Tommaso Morlino | 9 December 1982 | 6 May 1983 | died during mandate |
| Vittorino Colombo | 12 May 1983 | 11 July 1983 | |
| 9th Legislature | |||
| Francesco Cossiga | 12 July 1983 | 24 June 1985 | elected President of the Italian Republic |
| Amintore Fanfani | 9 July 1985 | 17 April 1987 | resigned once elected Prime Minister |
| Giovanni Francesco Malagodi | 22 April 1987 | 1 July 1987 | |
| 10th Legislature | |||
| Giovanni Spadolini | 2 July 1987 | 22 April 1992 | |
| 11th Legislature | |||
| Giovanni Spadolini | 24 April 1992 | 14 April 1994 | |
| 12th Legislature | |||
| Carlo Scognamiglio Pasini | 16 April 1994 | 8 May 1996 | |
| 13th Legislature | |||
| Nicola Mancino | 9 May 1996 | 29 May 2001 | |
| 14th Legislature | |||
| Marcello Pera | 30 May 2001 | 27 April 2006 | |
| 15th Legislature | |||
| Franco Marini | 29 April 2006 | 28 April 2008 | |
| 16th Legislature | |||
| Renato Schifani | 29 April 2008 |
Presidency Office
President
- Renato Schifani
Vice Presidents
- Emma Bonino
- Vannino Chiti
- Rosi Mauro
- Domenico Nania
Quaestors
- Benedetto Adragna
- Romano Comincioli
- Paolo Franco
Secretaries
- Silvana Amati
- Emanuela Baio
- Cinzia Bonfrisco
- Alessio Butti
- Lucio Malan
- Colomba Mongiello
- Piergiorgio Stiffoni
- Marco Stradiotto
References
See also
- Parliament of Italy
- Italian Chamber of Deputies
- Senate
- Roman Senate
- Senato Italiano (TV channel)
External links
- (Italian) Official website
- (English) Official website
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