A senator for life is a member of the

senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the e ...

or equivalent

upper chamber An upper house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restric ...

of a

legislature A legislature is an deliberative assembly, assembly with the authority to make laws for a Polity, political entity such as a Sovereign state, country or city. They are often contrasted with the Executive (government), executive and Judiciary, ...

who has

life tenure A life tenure or service during good behaviour is a term of office that lasts for the office holder's lifetime, unless the office holder is removed from office for cause under misbehaving in office, extraordinary circumstances or decides personal ...

. , six

Italian senators Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

out of 206, two out of the 41 Burundian senators, one Congolese senator out of 109, and all members of the British

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster ...

(apart from the 26

Lords Spiritual The Lords Spiritual are the bishops of the Church of England who serve in the House of Lords of the United Kingdom. 26 out of the 42 diocesan bishops and archbishops of the Church of England serve as Lords Spiritual (not counting retired archbi ...

who are expected to retire at the age of 70) have lifetime tenure (although Lords can choose to resign or retire or can be expelled in cases of misconduct). Several

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the souther ...

n countries once granted lifetime membership to former presidents but have since abolished the practice.

Burundi

Burundi Burundi (, ), officially the Republic of Burundi ( rn, Repuburika y’Uburundi ; Swahili: ''Jamuhuri ya Burundi''; French: ''République du Burundi'' ), is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Gr ...

, former presidents of the Republic serve in the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the e ...

for life. At present there are two of these: Sylvestre Ntibantunganya and

Domitien Ndayizeye Domitien Ndayizeye (born 2 May 1953) is a Burundian politician who was President of Burundi from 2003 to 2005. He succeeded Pierre Buyoya, as president on 30 April 2003, after serving as Buyoya's vice president for 18 months. Ndayizeye remained ...

Democratic Republic of the Congo

The 2006 constitution of the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

grants lifetime membership in the

to former presidents of the Republic. As of 2019,

Joseph Kabila Joseph Kabila Kabange ( , ; born 4 June 1971) is a Congolese politician who served as President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo between January 2001 and January 2019. He took office ten days after the assassination of his father, Presi ...

is the only senator for life after serving as president from 2001 to 2019. The 1964 Congolese constitution also provided for life membership in the Senate for former presidents.

Italy

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, a ''senatore a vita'' is a member of the Italian Senate appointed by the president of the Italian Republic "for outstanding patriotic merits in the social, scientific, artistic or literary field". There may be up to five appointed senators for life at the same time. Former presidents of the Republic are '' ex officio'' senators for life. Currently there are six senators for life (one former president and five appointed).

Paraguay

Former presidents of the Republic, except for those who were impeached from office, are granted the speaking-but-non-voting position of

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the e ...

for life.

Russia

The lifetime senatorship appeared in the

Constitution of Russia The Constitution of the Russian Federation () was adopted by national referendum on 12 December 1993. Russia's constitution came into force on 25 December 1993, at the moment of its official publication, and abolished the Soviet system of gov ...

as a result of the constitutional reform in 2020. According to the new version of the Constitution, the

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese f ...

has the right to appoint 30 senators for services to the country in the sphere of state and public activity, 7 of whom can be appointed for life. In addition, former presidents (except for those who were impeached from office) become senators for life, but have the right to refuse this office. This was widely seen as a preparation for a future power transition.

Rwanda

The

Rwandan Constitution The Constitution of Rwanda was adopted by referendum on May 26, 2003. It replaced the older Constitution of 1991. The Constitution provides for a presidential system of government, with separation of powers between the three branches. It condemns ...

permits former presidents of the country to become members of the

if they wish, by submitting a request to the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

Former systems

Canada

In a manner reminiscent of the

British House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in ...

, members of the Canadian Senate were appointed for life. Since the Constitution Act, 1965, however, senators must retire upon reaching the age of 75. Though senators appointed before the amendment were grandfathered in by the legislation, there are no longer any lifetime senators present in the Canadian Senate. Orville Howard Phillips, the last senator for life, resigned his seat in 1999.

France

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

, during the Third Republic, the

was composed of 300 members, 75 of which were ''inamovible'' ("unremovable"). Introduced in 1875, the status was abolished for new senators in 1884, but maintained for those already in office.

Émile Deshayes de Marcère Émile-Louis-Gustave Deshayes de Marcère (16 March 1828 – 26 April 1918) was a French politician. Marcère was a deputy in the National Assembly from 1871 to 1884. In 1876 and 1878, he was Minister of the Interior, continuing in post for a ...

, the last surviving ''sénateur inamovible'', died in 1918. Overall there had been 116 lifetime senators. In 2005, there was questioning about the status of former presidents of the Republic. According to the constitution of the Fifth Republic, former presidents are ''de jure'' members of the Constitutional Council, which poses a problem of possible partiality. Some members of

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. ...

and commentators suggested that it should be replaced by a life membership in the

. This proposal was, however, not enacted.

Romania

The 1923 Constitution instituted the membership by right (''senator de drept'') in the

for: * the heir-apparent or heir-presumptive to the

throne A throne is the seat of state of a potentate or dignitary, especially the seat occupied by a sovereign on state occasions; or the seat occupied by a pope or bishop on ceremonial occasions. "Throne" in an abstract sense can also refer to the mon ...

Metropolitan bishop In Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan (alternative obsolete form: metropolite), pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis. Originally, the term referred to the b ...

s and diocesan bishops of the Orthodox and Greek-Catholic churches * heads of state-recognised religious bodies * the president of the

Romanian Academy The Romanian Academy ( ro, Academia Română ) is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 active members who are elected for life. According to its by ...

* former presidents of the Council of Ministers * former ministers with at least six years’ seniority * former presidents of either legislative chamber who held this function for at least eight ordinary sessions * former senators and deputies elected to at least ten legislatures, irrespective of their duration * former presidents of the High Court of Cassation and Justice * reserve and retired generals * former presidents of the National Assemblies at Chişinău, Cernăuţi and

Alba Iulia Alba Iulia (; german: Karlsburg or ''Carlsburg'', formerly ''Weißenburg''; hu, Gyulafehérvár; la, Apulum) is a city that serves as the seat of Alba County in the west-central part of Romania. Located on the Mureș River in the historica ...

, which proclaimed their respective provinces’ union with Romania in 1918 (''see

Union of Bessarabia with Romania The union of Bessarabia with Romania was proclaimed on by Sfatul Țării, the legislative body of the Moldavian Democratic Republic. This state had the same borders of the region of Bessarabia, which was annexed by the Russian Empire following t ...

, Union of Bukovina with Romania and Union of Transylvania with Romania'') The membership by right was maintained under the 1938 Constitution and it was abolished together with the Senate on July 15, 1946, by the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of '' The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ...

-dominated government of Petru Groza. Although the current

constitution of Romania The current Constitution of Romania is the seventh permanent constitution in modern Romania's history. It is the fundamental governing document of Romania that establishes the structure of its government, the rights and obligations of citizens, ...

re-established the bicameral

in 1991, it did not reinstate the office of senator by right.

South and Central America

The

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princip ...

s of a number of countries in

have granted former presidents the right to be senator for life (''senador vitalicio''), possibly recalling the entirely unelected Senate of

Simón Bolívar Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios (24 July 1783 – 17 December 1830) was a Venezuelan military and political leader who led what are currently the countries of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Panama and ...

's theory (see Bolivar's tricameralism). Most of these countries have since excised these provisions as they are increasingly seen as antidemocratic. The

Constitution of Paraguay The Republic of Paraguay is governed under the constitution of 1992, which is the country's sixth since independence from Spain in 1811. Independence The recorded history of Paraguay began in 1516 with the failed expedition of Juan Díaz de Sol ...

still has such a provision. Former presidents are permitted to speak but not vote. * In

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in ...

, lifetime

seats existed from 1961 to 1999. The former presidents who held this position were:

Rómulo Betancourt Rómulo Ernesto Betancourt Bello (22 February 1908 – 28 September 1981; ), known as "The Father of Venezuelan Democracy", was the president of Venezuela, serving from 1945 to 1948 and again from 1959 to 1964, as well as leader of Acción De ...

(1964–1981),

Raúl Leoni Raúl Leoni Otero (26 April 1905 – 5 July 1972) was the president of Venezuela from 1964 until 1969. He was a member of the Generation of 1928 and a charter member of the Acción Democrática party, and the first Labor minister of Venezuela ...

(1969–1972),

Rafael Caldera Rafael Antonio Caldera Rodríguez ( (); 24 January 1916 – 24 December 2009), twice elected the president of Venezuela, served for two five-year terms (1969–1974 and 1994–1999), becoming the longest serving democratically elected leade ...

(1974–1994, 1999), Carlos Andrés Pérez (1979–1989, 1994–1996), Luis Herrera Campins (1984–1999) and

Jaime Lusinchi Jaime Ramón Lusinchi (27 May 1924 – 21 May 2014) was a Venezuelan politician who was the president of Venezuela from 1984 to 1989. His term was characterized by an economic crisis, growth of the external debt, populist policies, currency de ...

(1989–1999). The Venezuelan Senate was abolished with the 1999 constitution. * In

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

, the practice was extant from 1979 to

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

. Francisco Morales Bermúdez, Fernando Belaúnde Terry and Alan García Pérez were the only lifetime senators until the abolition of the senate in 1993 and the introduction of a unicameral parliament. * In

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...

, under the 1980 Constitution, two ex- presidents have become senators-for-life: Augusto Pinochet Ugarte (1998–2002) and

Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle Eduardo Alfredo Juan Bernardo Frei Ruiz–Tagle (; born 24 June 1942) is a Chilean politician and civil engineer who served as president of Chile from 1994 to 2000. He was also a Senator, fulfilling the role of President of the Senate from 200 ...

(2000–2006). Pinochet's

parliamentary immunity Parliamentary immunity, also known as legislative immunity, is a system in which politicians such as president, vice president, governor, lieutenant governor, member of parliament, member of legislative assembly, member of legislative council, ...

protected him from prosecution for

human rights violations Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...

until the

Chilean Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Chile is the highest court in Chile. It also administers the lower courts in the nation. It is located in the capital Santiago. In the Chilean system, the court lacks the broader power of judicial review—it cannot set bindin ...

revoked it in 2000. The provision was abolished by constitutional reforms in 2005. * In

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean Sea, Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to ...

, the 1974 Constitution granted lifetime membership in that country's Senate to former presidents of the Republic.

Brazil

The senators of the

Empire of Brazil The Empire of Brazil was a 19th-century state that broadly comprised the territories which form modern Brazil and (until 1828) Uruguay. Its government was a representative parliamentary constitutional monarchy under the rule of Emperors Dom ...

(1826–1889) were appointed for life by the

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother ( e ...

from a list of three, indirectly elected, candidates for each constituency. For details, see Senate of Brazil: History. There were about 250 senators of the Empire of Brazil. For the list of senators, see :pt:Lista de senadores do Brasil

Somalia

While the 1960 constitution of the

Somali Republic The Somali Republic ( so, Jamhuuriyadda Soomaaliyeed; it, Repubblica Somala; ar, الجمهورية الصومالية, Jumhūriyyat aṣ-Ṣūmālīyyah) was a sovereign state composed of Somalia and Somaliland, following the unification ...

(1960–1969) did not provide for a senate (the legislature, known as the National Assembly, was unicameral), it did grant lifetime membership in the legislature to ex- presidents of the Republic. Aden Adde was the only person eligible to hold this position.

United States

During the

Constitutional Convention Constitutional convention may refer to: * Constitutional convention (political custom), an informal and uncodified procedural agreement *Constitutional convention (political meeting), a meeting of delegates to adopt a new constitution or revise an e ...

of 1787,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

delegate Alexander Hamilton proposed that all members of the U.S. Senate, which was at time appointed by

state legislatures A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Stat ...

and intended to check the power of the popularly elected

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

, be appointed for life as a safeguard against "amazing violence and turbulence of the democratic spirit." His views did not prevail, and the final U.S. Constitution specified six-year terms for senators. Larry J. Sabato, a political scientist at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with College admission ...

, proposed establishing lifetime Senate appointments for former presidents and former vice presidents as part of a broad set of political proposals in his 2007 book, '' A More Perfect Constitution''.

Notes

External links

Senato.it: Senatori a vita
{{in lang, it — Italian lifetime senators (XVII legislation – June 2017) Senators for life