Term of office

Aterm of office,electoral term,orparliamentary termis the length of time a person serves in a particularelected office.In many jurisdictions there is a defined limit on how long terms of office may be before the officeholder must be subject tore-election.Some jurisdictions exerciseterm limits,setting a maximum number of terms an individual may hold in a particular office.

United Kingdom

Being the origin of theWestminster system,aspects of theUnited Kingdom's system of government are replicated in many other countries.

Monarch

Themonarchserves as head of state until their death orabdication.

House of Commons

See also:House of Commons of the United Kingdom

In theUnited KingdomMembers of Parliament (MPs) in theHouse of Commonsare elected for the duration of the parliament. Followingdissolutionof the Parliament, ageneral electionis held which consists of simultaneous elections for all seats. For most MPs this means that their terms of office are identical to the duration of the Parliament. An individual's term may be cut short by death orresignation.An MP elected in aby-electionmid-way through a Parliament, regardless of how long they have occupied the seat, is not exempt from facingre-electionat the next general election.

TheSeptennial Act 1715provided that a Parliament expired seven years after it had been summoned; this maximum period was reduced to five years by theParliament Act 1911.Prior to theFixed-term Parliaments Act 2011parliaments had no minimum duration. Parliaments could be dissolved early by the monarch at theprime minister's request. Early dissolutions occurred when the make-up of Parliament made forming government impossible (as occurred in1974), or, more commonly, when the incumbent government reasoned an early general election would improve their re-election chances (e.g.2001). The Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 mandated that Parliaments should last their full five years; early dissolution remained possible but under much more limited circumstances. However, the act was repealed in 2022 and replaced with theDissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022,which restored the pre-2011 constitutional situation.

Because thegovernmentandprime ministerare effectivelyindirectly electedthrough the Commons, the terms of Parliaments and MPs do not directly apply to offices of government, though in practice these are affected by changes in Parliament. While, strictly speaking, a prime minister whose incumbency spans multiple Parliaments only serves one, unbroken, term of office, some writers may refer to the different Parliaments as separate terms.

House of Lords

Hereditary peersandlife peersretain membership of theHouse of Lordsfor life, though members can resign or be expelled.Lords Spiritualhold membership of the House of Lords until the end of their time as bishops, though a senior bishop may be made a life peer upon the end of their bishopric (e.g.George Carey,madeBaron Carey of Cliftonthe day after he ceased beingArchbishop of Canterbury).

Devolved administrations

Thedevolved administrationsinScotland,WalesandNorthern Irelandare variations on the system of government used atWestminster.

The office of the leader of the devolved administrations has no numeric term limit imposed upon it. However, in the case of theScottish Governmentand theWelsh Governmentthere are fixed terms for which thelegislaturescan sit. This is imposed at five years. Elections may be held before this time but only if no administration can be formed, which has not happened yet.

Other elected offices

Offices oflocal governmentother regional elected officials follow similar rules to the national offices discussed above, with persons elected to fixed terms of a few years.

United States

Federal

Main article:Federal government of the United States

In theUnited States,thepresident of the United Statesis elected indirectly through theUnited States Electoral Collegeto a four-year term, with aterm limitof two terms (totaling eight years) or a maximum of ten years if the president acted as president for two years or less in a term where another was elected as president, imposed by theTwenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution,ratified in 1951.

TheVice Presidentalso serves four-year terms but without any term limit.U.S. Representativesserve two-year terms.U.S. Senatorsserve six-year terms.

Federal judgeshave different terms in office.Article I judges;such as those that sit on theUnited States bankruptcy courts,United States Tax Court,andUnited States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces,and certain otherfederal courtsand other forms ofadjudicative bodiesserve limited terms: The Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces for 15 years, bankruptcy courts for 14. However, the majority of the federal judiciary, Article III judges (such as those of theSupreme Court,courts of appeal,andfederal district courts), serve for life.

State and territories

Main article:State governments of the United States

The terms of office for officials in state governments varies according to the provisions ofstate constitutionsandstate law.

The term forstate governorsis four years in all states butVermontandNew Hampshire;theVermontandNew Hampshire governorsserve for two years.

TheNational Conference of State Legislaturesreported in January 2007 that amongstate legislatures:

• 44 states had terms of office for thelower houseof the state legislature (often termed the state House of Representatives) at two years. Five (Alabama,Louisiana,Maryland,Mississippi,andNorth Dakota) had terms of office at four years. (TheNebraska Legislatureis an exception and has aunicameral legislaturewith members elected for four years, withstaggered electionsfor half of members.)
• 37 states had terms of office for theupper houseof the state legislature (often termed the state Senate) at four years. 20 states had staggered elections for half of the seats in their four-year upper houses, while eight others (Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Minnesota, New Jersey and Texas) were elected on a 2-4-4 schedule, depending on the proximity of the election to legislative reapportionments following thedecennial census.Twelve (Arizona,Connecticut,Georgia,Idaho,Maine,Massachusetts,New Hampshire,New York,North Carolina,Rhode Island,South Dakota,Vermont) had terms of office at two years.

Amongterritories of the United States:

• In theAmerican Samoa Fono,members of theHouseserve two-year terms while members of theSenateserve six-year terms.
• Members of both chambers of theLegislative Assembly of Puerto Ricohave four-year terms.
• Members of both chambers of theNorthern Mariana Islands Commonwealth Legislaturehave two-year terms.
• TheLegislature of GuamandLegislature of the Virgin Islandsareunicameraland Senators have two-year terms.

Members ofCouncil of the District of Columbiaserve a four-year term.

Canada

As a former British territory following theWestminster System,there are many similarities with the United Kingdom, although with some variations based on local customs, the federal system of government and the absentee monarch.

Monarch

Being aCommonwealth realm,Canada shares amonarchwith the United Kingdom and 14 other countries, who serves as head of state of all 15 realms until his or her death or abdication.

Viceroys

Thegovernor generalis appointed by the monarch as his/her personal representative on the advice of theprime minister,and servesfor an indefinite term,though the normal convention is 5 years. Similarly, thelieutenant governors,who represent the monarch at the provincial level, are appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister (usually also with consultation of the relevant provincialpremier), and generally also serve 5 year terms by convention. The territories havecommissioners,who are not representatives of the monarch, but are instead appointed by and represent thegovernor-in-council(i.e. thefederal cabinet), and conventionally serve for about 5 years.

House of Commons

See also:House of Commons of Canada

Similar to the United Kingdom, MPs serve for the duration of the Parliament. They may resign before the end of a Parliament or be elected inby-electionsduring the middle of a Parliament.

Under theConstitution Act, 1867,a Parliament may last for a maximum of 5 years from the most recent election before expiring, although all Parliaments to date have been dissolved before they could expire. Bill C-16, introduced in the39th Parliament,provided for fixed election dates every 4 years on the third Monday in October, beginning in 2009. However, the Prime Minister may still advise the Governor General to dissolve Parliament at any time.

As in the United Kingdom, the cabinet and head of government are indirectly elected based on the composition of the House of Commons, they are not technically affected by the terms of legislators or Parliaments. In practice however, the terms of government office holders are affected by changes in the House of Commons, and those who serve for multiple consecutive Parliaments are generally considered to have served a single term. The term of a government generally ends when it is defeated on a confidence matter or the governing party fails to gain enough seats in a general election.

Senate

Senators are appointed to theCanadian Senateto represent a province, territory, or group of provinces, by the Governor General of Canada on the advice of the Prime Minister, and serve until the mandatory retirement age of 75. Senators appointed before the passage of theBritish North America Act, 1965served for life. Senators may also resign from office or be expelled from the Senate.

Provincial and Territorial Legislatures

See also:Legislative assemblies of Canadian provinces and territories

Provincial legislatures and the legislature of the Yukon function very similarly to the federal House of Commons. MLAs (called MPPs inOntario,MNAs inQuebec,and MHAs inNewfoundland and Labrador) serve for the duration of the legislature, though they may resign before the legislature is dissolved or be elected in by-elections between general elections. The legislatures of theNorthwest TerritoriesandNunavutoperate using aconsensusmodel, but are similar otherwise. The premiers and their cabinets are selected in the same way as in the House of Commons, and like at the federal level, the term of a provincial government can be ended by defeat in a general election or the loss of the legislature's confidence.

All provincial legislatures except that ofNova Scotiahave fixed-term election legislation in place, as does the legislature of the Northwest Territories. Premiers may also advise Lieutenant Governors to dissolve legislatures at any time before the prescribed election date.

Netherlands

In the Netherlands the position of Minister-President (Prime Minister) is limited to four years (counted from the moment the government is officially formed) although it can be repeated indefinitely after subsequent elections. It is common for the heads of governments in the Netherlands to take up the mantle multiple times, although it's neither expected or required to do so, more often a consequence of governments breaking up internally before their official four years are over and reforming with other parties. This is how the Netherlands ended up with consequent cabinets by: 4xWillem Drees(Drees-Van Schaik I '48, Drees I '51, Drees II '52 - Drees III '56) 3xDries van Agt(Van Agt I '77, Van Agt II '81, Van Agt III '82) 4xJan Peter Balkenende(Balkenende I '02, Balkenende II '03, Balkenende III '06, Balkenende IV '07) 4xMark Rutte(Rutte I '10, Rutte II '12, Rutte III '17, Rutte IV '22).

China

Further information:Xi Jinping Administration

Between 1982 and 2018, theConstitution of Chinastipulated that thepresident,vice president,premier,vice premierscould not serve more than two consecutive terms. In March 2018,China's party-controlledNational People's Congresspassed a set of constitutional amendments including removal of term limits for thepresidentandvice president,as well as enhancing the central role of theChinese Communist Party(CCP).On 17 March 2018, the Chinese legislature reappointed Xi as president, now without term limits;Wang Qishanwas appointed vice president.The following day,Li Keqiangwas reappointedpremierand longtime allies of Xi,Xu QiliangandZhang Youxia,were voted in asvice-chairmen of the state military commission.Foreign ministerWang Yiwas promoted tostate councillorand GeneralWei Fenghewas nameddefence minister.

According to theFinancial Times,Xi expressed his views of constitutional amendment at meetings with Chinese officials and foreign dignitaries. Xi explained the decision in terms of needing to align two more powerful posts—General Secretary of the Chinese Communist PartyandChairman of the Central Military Commission(CMC)—which have no term limits. However, Xi did not say whether he intended to serve as party general secretary, CMC chairman and state president, for three or more terms.

Terms of office by country

Heads of state
Upper houses
Lower houses
Legend
2	3	4	5	6	7	>7
Not applicable		Unclear		Varies	Until removed

Numbers in years unless stated otherwise. Some countries wherefixed-term electionsare uncommon, the legislature is almost always dissolved earlier than its expiry date. "Until removed from office"refers to offices that do not have fixed terms; in these cases, the officeholder(s) may serve indefinitely until death, abdication, resignation, retirement, or forcible removal from office (such asimpeachment).

In most cases where thehead of governmentis a different person from the head of state, its term of office is identical to the chamber that elected it (the legislature if it is unicameral, or most usually thelower houseif it is bicameral), unless it does not survive avote of no confidence.

Country	Head of state	Members of theupper house	Members of thelower house
Afghanistan	Until removed from office	—	—
Albania	5	—	4
Algeria	5	6	5
Andorra	Until removed from office(Bishop of Urgel)5 (President of France)	—	4
Angola	5	—	5
Antigua and Barbuda	Until removed from office	5	5
Argentina	4	6	4
Armenia	7	—	5
Australia	Until removed from office	6	3
Austria	6	4 to 6	5
Azerbaijan	7	—	5
Bahamas	Until removed from office	5	5
Bahrain	Until removed from office	4	4
Bangladesh	5	—	5
Barbados	4	5	5
Belarus	5	4	4
Belgium	Until removed from office	5	5
Belize	Until removed from office	5	5
Benin	5	—	5
Bhutan	Until removed from office	5	5
Bolivia	5	5	5
Bosnia and Herzegovina	4	4	4
Botswana	5	—	5
Brazil	4	8	4
Bulgaria	5	—	4
Burkina Faso	5	6	5
Burundi	7	5	5
Brunei	Until removed from office	—	5
Cambodia	Until removed from office	6	5
Cameroon	7	5	5
Canada	Until removed from office	Until removed from office	4
Cape Verde	5	—	5
Central African Republic	5	—	5
Chad	6	—	5
Chile	4	8	4
China	5	—	5
Republic of China	4	—	4
Colombia	4	4	4
Congo	5	6	5
Comoros	5	—	5
Ivory Coast	5	5	5
Costa Rica	4	—	4
Croatia	5	—	4
Cuba	5	—	5
Cyprus	5	—	5
Czech Republic	5	6	4
DR Congo	5	5	5
Denmark	Until removed from office	—	4
Djibouti	5	—	5
Dominica	5	—	5
Dominican Republic	4	4	4
Ecuador	4	—	4
Egypt	6	5	5
El Salvador	5	—	3
Equatorial Guinea	7	—	5
Eritrea	Until removed from office	—	Until removed from office
Estonia	5	—	4
Ethiopia	6	—	5
Fiji	3	—	4
Finland	6	—	4
France	5	6	5
Gabon	5	6	5
Gambia	5	—	5
Georgia	5	—	4
Germany	5	4 to 5	4
Ghana	4	—	4
Greece	5	—	4
Grenada	Until removed from office	5	5
Guatemala	4	—	4
Guinea	5	—	5
Guinea-Bissau	5	—	5
Guyana	5	—	5
Haiti	5	6	4
Honduras	4	—	4
Hungary	5	—	4
Iceland	4	—	4
India	5	6	5
Indonesia	5	5	5
Iran	Until removed from office	—	4
Iraq	4	—	4
Ireland	7	5	5
Israel	7	—	4
Italy	7	5	5
Jamaica	Until removed from office	5	5
Japan	Until removed from office	6	4
Jordan	Until removed from office	4	4
Kazakhstan	7	6	5
Kenya	5	5	5
Kiribati	4	—	4
Kosovo	5	—	4
Kuwait	Until removed from office	—	4
Kyrgyzstan	5	—	5
Laos	5	—	5
Latvia	4	—	4
Lebanon	6	—	4
Libya	Until removed from office	Until removed from office	Until removed from office
Lesotho	Until removed from office	5	5
Liberia	6	9	6
Liechtenstein	Until removed from office	—	4
Lithuania	5	—	4
Luxembourg	Until removed from office	—	5
North Macedonia	5	—	4
Madagascar	5	5	5
Malawi	5	—	5
Malaysia	5	3	5
Maldives	5	—	5
Mali	5	—	5
Malta	5	—	5
Marshall Islands	4	—	4
Mauritania	5	—	5
Mauritius	5	—	5
Mexico	6	6	3
Micronesia	4	4	2
Monaco	Until removed from office	—	5
Mongolia	6	—	4
Moldova	4	—	4
Montenegro	5	—	4
Morocco	Until removed from office	6	5
Mozambique	5	—	5
Myanmar	5	5	5
Namibia	5	6	5
Nauru	3	—	3
Nepal	5	6	5
Netherlands	Until removed from office	4	4
New Zealand	Until removed from office	—	3
Nicaragua	5	—	5
Nigeria	4	4	4
Niger	5	—	5
North Korea	5	—	5
Norway	Until removed from office	—	4
Oman	Until removed from office	4	4
Pakistan	5	6	5
Palau	4	4	4
Palestine	4	—	4
Panama	5	—	5
Papua New Guinea	Until removed from office	—	5
Paraguay	5	5*	5
Peru	5	—	5
Philippines	6	6	3
Poland	5	4	4
Portugal	5	—	4
Qatar	Until removed from office	—	4
Romania	5	4	4
Russia	6	—	5
Rwanda	5	—	5
Saint Kitts and Nevis	Until removed from office	—	5
Saint Lucia	Until removed from office	5	5
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Until removed from office	—	5
Samoa	5	—	5
San Marino	0.5 (6 months)	—	5
São Tomé and Príncipe	5	—	4
Saudi Arabia	Until removed from office	—	4
Senegal	5	5	5
Serbia	5	—	4
Seychelles	5	—	5
Sierra Leone	5	—	5
Singapore	6	—	5
Slovakia	5	—	4
Slovenia	5	5	4
Solomon Islands	Until removed from office	—	4
Somalia	4	—	4
South Africa	5	5	5
South Korea	5	—	4
South Sudan	5	Unknown	5
Spain	Until removed from office	4	4
Sri Lanka	5	—	5
Sudan	Until removed from office	Until removed from office	Until removed from office
Suriname	5	—	5
Eswatini	Until removed from office	5	5
Sweden	Until removed from office	—	4
Switzerland	4	4	4
Syria	7	—	4
Tajikistan	7	5	5
Tanzania	5	—	5
Thailand	Until removed from office	5	4
East Timor	5	—	5
Togo	5	—	5
Tonga	Until removed from office	—	5
Trinidad and Tobago	5	5	5
Tunisia	5	—	5
Turkey	5	—	5
Turkmenistan	7	—	5
Tuvalu	Until removed from office	—	4
Uganda	5	—	5
Ukraine	5	—	4
United Arab Emirates	5	—	4
United Kingdom	Until removed from office	Until removed from office	5
United States	4	6	2
Uruguay	5	5	5
Uzbekistan	7	5	5
Vanuatu	5	—	4
Vatican City	Until removed from office	—	5
Venezuela	6	—	5
Vietnam	5	—	5
Yemen	7	—	6
Zambia	5	—	5
Zimbabwe	5	5	5

See also

• Term limits in the United States
• Term limit
• Reelection
• Midterm election

Further reading

• Alexander Baturo and Robert Elgie (eds.). 2019.The Politics of Presidential Term Limits.Oxford University Press.

External links

IPU Parlinedatabase on national parliaments