Member of parliament

Labour Partymembers of theHouse of Representatives of the Netherlandsahead of thePrinsjesdagcelebrations on 20 September 2022

Amember of parliament(MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in theirelectoral district.In many countries withbicameralparliaments, this term refers only to members of thelower housesinceupper housemembers often have a different title. The termscongressman/congresswomanordeputyare equivalent terms used in other jurisdictions. The termparliamentarianis also sometimes used for members of parliament, but this may also be used to refer to unelected government officials with specific roles in a parliament and other expert advisers on parliamentary procedure such as theSenate parliamentarianin the United States. The term is also used to the characteristic of performing the duties of a member of a legislature, for example: "The two party leaders often disagreed on issues, but both were excellent parliamentarians and cooperated to get many good things done."

Members of parliament typically formparliamentary groups,sometimes calledcaucuses,with members of the samepolitical party.

Westminster system

Main article:Westminster system

The Westminster system is ademocraticparliamentary systemofgovernmentmodelled after thepolitics of the United Kingdom.This term comes from thePalace of Westminster,the seat of theParliament of the United Kingdom.

Australia

At the Commonwealth level, a "member of parliament" is a member of theHouse of Representatives,the lower house of theCommonwealth (federal) parliament.Members may use the postnominal "MP" after their names. "MHR" ( "Member of the House of Representatives" ) was not used, which was affirmed by cabinet in 1901 and reaffirmed in 1951 and 1965.However, the prohibition of "MHR" does not appear to have been strictly enforced, as it was used most recently byTony Abbottwhen he was in the parliament (1994–2019).A member of the upper house of the Commonwealth Parliament, theSenate,is known as a "Senator".

States and territories

In theAustralian states and territories,"MP" is commonly used. Inbicamerallegislatures, members of the lower house (legislative assemblyorhouse of assembly) also use the post-nominals "MLA" or "MHA" and members of the upper house (legislative council) use "MLC".

MLCs are informally refer to as upper house MPs.

Bahamas

TheParliament of the Bahamasis the bicameral national parliament of Commonwealth of the Bahamas. The parliament is formally made up by the monarch (represented by the governor-general), an appointed Senate, and an elected House of Assembly. It currently sits at Nassau, the national capital.

The structure, functions, and procedures of the parliament are based on the Westminster system.

Bangladesh

Main articles:Member of Parliament (Bangladesh)andJatiya Sangsad

InBangladesh,a member of parliament is an individual who serves in theunicameralJatiya Sangsador House of the Nation. Members of the Jatiya Sangsad are elected at ageneral election,usually held once every five years unless Parliament is dissolved sooner by thepresidenton the advice of theprime minister.Under theConstitution of Bangladesh,an individual is required to be a citizen of Bangladesh and must have attained the age of 25 years in order to qualify for election to Parliament.

The Parliament consists of 300 directly elected members from general seats elected by use offirst past the postwho represent single-constituencies, while 50 seats are reserved exclusively for women and are allocated on aproportional basis.After an election, theElection Commissionallocates reserved seats to parties based on the number of general seats they won. A party then presents a list of candidates, each requiring a presenter and a seconder. If the number of candidates presented and seats allocated is equal, then there is no election and the reserved seats are filled in accordance with the candidate lists prepared by parties. In the event there are more candidates than seat allocations, the 300 MPs elected from general seats vote through use of thesingle transferable votesystem to determine the reserved seats. In reality, there has never been an election for reserved seats as parties have never nominated more candidates than they have been allocated.In order to form aGovernment,apolitical partyorallianceusually requires asimple majorityin Parliament. Since Bangladesh's independence, the prime minister has concurrently held the position ofLeader of the House.

Barbados

Main article:Parliament of Barbados

The Parliament of Barbados is the legislative branch of the government of Barbados. It is a bicameral body, composed of an appointed Senate and an elected House of Assembly. The Senate (upper house), the direct successor of a pre-Independence body known as the "Legislative Council" —comprises 21 senators appointed by the president. The President appoints 12 Senators on the advice of the Prime Minister and two on the advice of the Leader of the Opposition.The remaining seven Senators are nominated by the President at their discretion (that is, the President is not bound by other political leaders' advice in these appointments) to represent various religious, social, economic, or other interests in Barbados.

In the absence of an opposition leader in parliament (i.e. in the case of alandslide victorywhere one party takes all 30 seats in the House of Assembly, as occurred in2018and2022)the president will then appoint the remaining two senators in the opposition's stead allowing for 9 independents instead.

The House of Assembly (lower house) is made up of 30 members of Parliament, elected to five-year terms on a first-past-the-post basis in single-seat constituencies.

Canada

Main article:Member of Parliament (Canada)

TheParliament of Canadaconsists of themonarch,theSenateand theHouse of Commons.Only members of the House of Commons are referred to as members of Parliament (French:député); members of the Senate are called Senators (French:sénateur).There are currently 105 seats in the Senate and 338 in the House of Commons.Members of Parliament are elected, while senators are appointed by thegovernor generalon behalf of the sovereign at the direction of theprime minister.Retirement is mandatory for senators upon reaching the age of 75 years.

Each province (and territory) has its own legislature, with each member usually known as aMember of the Legislative Assembly(MLA). In certain provinces, legislators carry other titles:Member of Provincial Parliament(MPP) inOntario,Member of the National Assembly(MNA) inQuebec(French:député) andMember of the House of Assembly(MHA) inNewfoundland and Labrador.The provincial upper houses were eliminated between 1876 (Manitoba) and 1968 (Quebec).

Gibraltar

Main articles:Gibraltar ParliamentandElections in Gibraltar

In Gibraltar, members of parliament serve in theunicameralGibraltar Parliament.There are 17 seats in the Parliament, to which candidates are elected byblock voting.Each candidate represents the whole of Gibraltar as their constituency.

India

See also:Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha;Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha;andParliament of India

A member of Parliament is a member of either of the two houses of theIndian Parliament:Lok Sabha(lower house) andRajya Sabha(upper house). Lok Sabha has 543 seats, all of whom are directly elected by the citizens ofIndiafrom each parliamentary constituency of states and union territories viafirst-past-the-post voting.Rajya Sabha can have 245 members, of which 238 members are indirectly elected. Of these 238 members, 229 belong to the state legislatures and 9 belongs to the union territories ofDelhi,Puducherry,andJammu and Kashmir,and are elected by using thesingle transferable votemethod ofproportional representation.The remaining 12 members are nominated by thepresidentfor their contributions to art, literature, science, and social services. Each state has a fixed number of representatives allocated in each chamber, in order of their respective populations. The state ofUttar Pradeshhas the greatest number of representatives in both houses. The person which secures the support of more than half the seats in the Lok Sabha forms theGovernment.To form the government, parties may form a coalition.

The term of a member of the Rajya Sabha is six years, while Lok Sabha members are elected for a term of five years, unless the house is dissolved sooner.Rajya Sabhais a permanent house that is not subject to dissolution, and one third of the members retire every two years. Vacancies in both houses, whether because of death or resignation of a member, must be filled by using abypollwithin six months of the vacancy; the newly elected member then only serves the remainder of the term of the seat to which they are elected. The number of seats in both houses is regulated by theConstitutionandparliamentary statutes.

Ireland

Main article:Teachta Dála

Since the formation of theIrish Free Statein 1922 and subsequently in theRepublic of Ireland,the legislature of Ireland is known as theOireachtas,and consists of the president; the upper house,Seanad Éireann(or Senate); and lower house,Dáil Éireann(Assembly, or House of Representatives). They are functionally similar to other bicameral parliaments, with the lower house being significantly more influential and having more power over the creation of legislation. Elections to Dáil Éireann are held at least every five years using the single transferable vote; while elections to Seanad Éireann are restricted to members of both houses, elected members of local authorities, and alumni ofNational University of Irelandcolleges. Eleven senators are nominated directly by theTaoiseach.

A Member of Dáil Éireann is known as aTeachta Dála(TD) or "Deputy to the Dáil", and addressed as "Teachta" (Deputy), while a Member of the Seanad is known and addressed as Seanadóir (Senator). These titles are used much more commonly in English than the official Irish.

Amember of Parliamentwas the term used to refer to a member of the pre-1801Irish House of Commonsof theParliament of Ireland.Irish members elected to theHouse of Commonsof theUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Irelandwere also calledmembers of Parliamentfrom 1801 to 1922.Northern Irelandcontinues to elect MPs to the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

Jamaica

Main article:Parliament of Jamaica

The Parliament of Jamaica is the legislative branch of the government of Jamaica. It is a bicameral body, composed of an appointed Senate and an elected House of Representatives. The Senate (upper house), the direct successor of a pre-Independence body known as the "Legislative Council" —comprises 21 senators appointed by the governor-general: thirteen on the advice of the prime minister and eight on the advice of the leader of the opposition.

The House of Representatives, the lower house, is made up of 63 (previously 60) members of Parliament, elected to five-year terms on a first-past-the-post basis in single-seat constituencies.

Kenya

TheNational Assembly of Kenyahas a total of 349 seats; 205 members are elected from theconstituencies,47 women are elected from thecountiesand 12 members are nominated representatives. Kenya also has 47 elected senators from 47 counties; who sit in the Senate parliament. The senators oversee the counties, which are run by governors- also democratically elected. There are also members of county assembly. They are elected from each ward, and seat in county assemblies to oversee and make laws for their respective counties.

Malaysia

Main article:Parliament of Malaysia

TheParliament of Malaysiaconsists of theYang di-Pertuan Agong(King) and two houses, theDewan Rakyat(theHouse of Representatives) andDewan Negara(theSenate).

The term "members of Parliament" only refers to members of theDewan Rakyat.InMalay,a member of Parliament is calledAhli Parlimen,or less formallywakil rakyat(people's representative).

Members of Parliament are elected from population-based single-seat constituencies usingfirst-past-the-post voting.Theprime ministermust be a member of Parliament.

Members of Parliament are styledYang Berhormat( "Honourable" ) with the initialsY.B.appendedprenominally.A prince who is a member of Parliament is styledYang Berhormat Mulia.The prime minister, deputy prime minister andTunswho are members of Parliament are styledYang Amat Berhormat( "Most Honourable" ), abbreviated Y.A.B.

Malta

TheParliament of Maltaconsists of the president of Malta and the House of Representatives of 69 members (article 51 of the Constitution), referred to as "members of Parliament" (article 52(1) of the Constitution). When appointed from outside the House, the speaker is also considered a member of the Parliament. The Constitution lists the qualifications and disqualifications from serving as a member of Parliament.

Privileges of members of Parliament and their Code of Ethics are laid out in the House of Representatives (Privileges and Powers) Ordinance.

Nauru

TheParliament of Nauruconsists of 18 seats. Members of Parliament are entitled to use the prefixThe Honourable.

New Zealand

Main articles:New Zealand Parliament,New Zealand elections,andList of New Zealand politicians

The New Zealand Parliament is made up of themonarchand theunicameralHouse of Representatives.Amember of Parliamentis a member of the House of Representatives, which has a minimum of 120 members, elected at a general election for a three-year term. There are 72electorateMPs, of which seven are elected only byMāoriwho have chosen to be registered on a separate Māori electoral roll. The remaining members are elected byproportional representationfrom publishedparty lists.

Since 1907, members of the House of Representatives have been referred to as 'Member of Parliament', abbreviated MP. From the 1860s until 1907 they were designated as 'Member of the House of Representatives', abbreviated 'MHR'. Between the first general election, in1853,and the 1860s, the designation was "Member of the General Assembly", abbreviated MGA.Before 1951, New Zealand had an upper house, theLegislative Council,whose members were appointed.

Pakistan

See also:Member of the National Assembly of Pakistan;Member of Parliament, Senate of Pakistan;andParliament of Pakistan

A member of Parliament is a member of either of the two houses of the Pakistani Parliament: theNational Assembly of PakistanandSenate of Pakistan.The National Assembly of Pakistan has a total of 342 members, of whom 272 are directly elected, and 70 seats are reserved for women and minorities. A member of the National Assembly of Pakistan (MNA) has a tenure of five years. On the other hand, there are 104 members of the Senate of Pakistan, in which all fourprovincesare represented by 23 senators regardless of population, while theIslamabad Capital Territoryis represented by four senators. A member of the Senate of Pakistan (a senator) has a tenure of six years.

Singapore

Main article:Lists of members of parliament in Singapore

Member of Parliamentrefers to elected members of theParliament of Singapore,the appointedNon-constituency Member of Parliamentfrom the opposition, as well as theNominated Members of Parliament,who may be appointed from members of the public who have no connection to any political party in Singapore.

Sri Lanka

Main article:Member of Parliament (Sri Lanka)

See also:15th Parliament of Sri LankaandNational List Member of Parliament

InSri Lanka,aMember of Parliamentrefers to a member of theParliament of Sri Lanka(since 1978), theNational State Assembly(1972–78) and theHouse of Representatives of Ceylon(1947–72), the lower house of theParliament of Ceylon.Members are elected in ageneral electionsor appointed from thenational listsallocated toparties(andindependentgroups) in proportion to their share of the national vote at a general election. A candidate to become an MP must be a Sri Lankan citizen and can be a holder of dual-citizenship in any other country, be at least 18 years of age, and not be a public official or officeholder.

Trinidad and Tobago

Main article:Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago

The Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago is the legislative branch of the government of Trinidad and Tobago. The Parliament is bicameral. It consists of the elected House of Representatives, which has 41 members elected for a five-year term in single-seat constituencies, and the Senate which has 31 members appointed by the president: 16 government senators appointed on the advice of the prime minister, 6 opposition senators appointed on the advice of the leader of the opposition and 9 independent senators appointed by the president to represent other sectors of civil society.

United Kingdom

Main article:Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)

See also:List of current United Kingdom MPs,List of United Kingdom MPs,List of Parliaments of the United Kingdom,List of MPs elected in the 2019 United Kingdom general election,Number of Westminster MPs,Salaries of Members of the UK Parliament,Records of members of parliament of the United Kingdom,andList of United Kingdom Parliament constituencies

The United Kingdom elects members of its parliament:

• theParliament of the United Kingdom,with 650 members elected by thefirst-past-the-postsystem to the (lower)House of Commons,referred to as members of Parliament, abbreviated toMP

and four devolved legislatures:

• theScottish Parliament,with 129 members elected under theadditional member systemevery five years, and each calledMember of the Scottish Parliament(MSP;Scottish Gaelic:Ball Pàrlamaid na h-Alba, BPA;Scots:Memmer o the Scots Pairliament, MSP)
• theNorthern Ireland Assembly,with 90 members each known asMember of the Legislative Assembly(MLA;Irish:Comhalta den Tionól Reachtach, CTR;Ulster-Scots:Laa-Makkan Forgaitherar,LMF). (Between 1921 and 1973, Northern Ireland was governed by the bicameralParliament of Northern Ireland.Members of its lower house, theHouse of Commons of Northern Ireland,were known asMember of Parliament.)
• theSenedd (Welsh Parliament),with 60 elected members calledMember of the Senedd(English - MS);Welsh:Aelod o'r Senedd, AS)
• theLondon Assembly,with 25 members elected under the additional member system every four years, calledMembers of the London Assembly(AM)

MPs are elected ingeneral electionsand by-elections to representconstituencies,and may remain MPs until Parliament is dissolved. "If it has not been dissolved earlier, a Parliament dissolves at the beginning of the day that is the fifth anniversary of the day on which it first met." (Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022).

A candidate to become an MP must be a British or Irish or Commonwealth citizen, be at least 18 years of age (reduced from 21 in 2006), and not be a public official or officeholder, as set out in the schedule to theElectoral Administration Act 2006.

Technically, MPs have no right toresigntheir seats (though they may refuse to seek re-election). However alegal fictionallows voluntary resignation between elections; as MPs are forbidden from holding an "office of profitunder the Crown ", an MP wishing to resign will apply for theStewardship of the Chiltern Hundredsor theStewardship of the Manor of Northsteadwhich are nominally such paid offices and thus result in the MP vacating their seat. (Accepting a salaried ministerial office does not amount to a paid office under the Crown for these purposes.)

TheHouse of Lordsis a legislative chamber that is part of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Although they are part of the parliament, its members are referred to aspeers,more formally asLords of Parliament,not MPs.Lords Temporalsit for life,Lords Spiritualwhile they occupy their ecclesiastical positions.Hereditary peersmay no longer pass on a seat in the House of Lords to their heir automatically. The 92 who remain have been elected from among their own number, following theHouse of Lords Act 1999and are the only elected members of the Lords.

Zimbabwe

Members of theNational Assembly,the lower house ofParliament,are styled "members of Parliament", while members of theSenate,the upper house, are referred to as "senators".

Other systems

Member of Parliamentcan be the term (often a translation) for representatives in parliamentary democracies that do not follow the Westminster system and who are usually referred to in a different fashion, such asdeputéin France,deputatoin Italy,deputatin Bulgaria,parlamentarioordiputadoin Spain and Spanish-speaking Latin America,deputadoin Portugal and Brazil, andMitglied desBundestages(MdB)in Germany. However, better translations are often possible.

Afghanistan

Prior to the takeover of theIslamic Emirate of Afghanistanin August 2021, a member of parliament (MP) was a member of the lower house of the bicameralNational Assembly of Afghanistan:a member of theWolesi Jirga(House of People) held one of the in total 250 seats in the lower house. The 102 members of the upper houseMeshrano Jirga(House of Elders) were called Senators.

Austria

Amember of Parliamentis a member of either of the two chambers of theParliament of Austria(Österreichisches Parlament). The members of theNationalratare calledAbgeordnete zum Nationalrat.The members of theBundesrat,elected by the provincial diets (Landtage) of the nine federalStates of Austria,are known asMitglieder des Bundesrats.

Azerbaijan

Further information:National Assembly (Azerbaijan)

Bulgaria

See also:National Assembly (Bulgaria)

In Bulgaria there are 240 members of Parliament (Bulgarian:Народно събрание / Парламент;transliteration Narodno sabranie / Parlament), which are called 'Deputati' (singular Deputat). Moreover, there are 240 MPs in the normal parliament and 400 in the "Great Parliament". The Great Parliament is elected when a new constitution is needed. There have been seven Great Parliaments in modernBulgarian history,in 1879, 1881, 1886, 1893, 1911, 1946 and 1990. MPs in Bulgaria are called депутати (deputies).

Cambodia

See also:National Assembly (Cambodia)

Themember of parliament(Khmer:សមាជិកសភា) refers to the elected members of theNational Assembly.There are 125 members of parliament in total. They are also alternatively calledmember of the National Assembly.Parliamentary elections are traditionally held every five years with no term limits imposed. The 25provinces of Cambodiaare represented by the members of Parliament in the National Assembly. A constituency may have more than one MP, depending on the population.

Czech Republic

Amember of Parliamentis a member of either of the two chambers of theParliament of the Czech Republic,although the termmember of Parliament of the Czech Republicis commonly referred to asdeputy of the Parliament of the Czech Republic(Czech:Poslanec Parlamentu České republiky), who is a member of the lower house of the Parliament, theChamber of Deputies.For the upper house, theSenate,the termsenatoris used.

Denmark

Main article:Member of the Folketing

Further information:Folketing

In Denmark, amember of the Folketinget(Danish:medlem af Folketinget) is one of the 179 members of theFolketinget.The title is almost always shortened to theinitialism"MF".

France

Main article:Member of Parliament (France)

In France,member of parliamentrefers in English to the elected (one for each of the 577constituencies) members of theNational Assembly,thelower houseof theFrench Parliament.They are known inFrenchasdéputés(deputies) and sit for five years, unless asnap electionis called before the end of their term.

Germany

Main article:Member of the German Bundestag

Amember of parliamentrefers to the elected members of the federalBundestagat theReichstag buildingin Berlin. In German a member is calledMitglied des Bundestages(member of the Federal Diet) or officiallyMitglied des Deutschen Bundestages(member of the German Federal Diet), abbreviatedMdBand attached.Unofficially the termAbgeordneter(lit. 'delegate',i.e. of a certain electorate) is also common (abbreviatedAbg.,never follows the name but precedes it).

In accordance with article 38 of theBasic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany,which is the German constitution, "[m]embers of the German Bundestag shall be elected in general, direct, free, equal, and secret elections. They shall be representatives of the whole people, not bound by orders or instructions, and responsible only to their conscience." An important though not constitutionally required feature of German parliamentarianism is a slightly modified proportional representation.

The 16 federalstates of Germany(Länder) are represented by the Bundesrat at the formerPrussian House of Lords,whose members are representatives of the respectiveLänder'sgovernments and not directly elected by the people.

Greece

Members of theHellenic Parliamentare known asvouleftés(βουλευτής, "councillors" ) in Greek, which is rendered into English as "members of parliament". TheVouliis a unicameral legislature of 300 constituency members, each elected for a four-year term.

Iceland

Further information:Alþingi

Indonesia

Main articles:People's Representative CouncilandPeople's Consultative Assembly

Although there are no official definition to what amember of parliamentis, it commonly refers to the elected members of the lowerPeople's Representative Council(Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat,abbr.DPR), known in Indonesian asAnggota DPR(member of the DPR). Members of the upperRegional Representative Council(Dewan Perwakilan Daerah,abbr.DPD) are referred to assenator,although the term Anggota DPD(member of the DPD) is also widely used. These titles are not used in formal naming convention following a member's name unlike the Westminster system.

Currently, there are 575 and 136 members in the DPR and the DPD respectively, both elected for a renewable five-year term. Members of the DPR are required to be a member of a registered political party, whereas members of the DPD are independent.

Israel

See also:Knesset

Amember of the Knesset(Hebrew:חבר הכנסת) is one of the 120 members of theKnesset.The title is usually shortened to theinitialism"MK".

Italy

Members of the lower house of theItalian Parliament,theChamber of Deputies,are known as "deputies" (deputati), while members of the upper house, theSenate of the Republic,are known as "senators" (senatori).Deputies and senators may use the style "The Honourable" (Onorevole). There are currently 400 deputies and 200 senators, who are elected in general elections held every five years. Thepresident of the Italian Republicnominates fivesenators for life(senatori a vita).Emeritus presidents of the republicare also appointed senators for life. The two houses of parliament together form a perfect bicameral system, meaning they perform identical functions, but do so separately.

Japan

Main article:Member of Parliament (Japan)

In Japan, both houses of today's national parliament, theNational Diet(Kokkai), are directly elected, and although the two chambers differ in legislative and political authority, term length and age restriction of eligibility, the members of both houses are generally equal in personal status (financial compensation, immunity, etc.). There are currently 710 members of the National Diet (Kokkai giin,Quốc hội nghị viên ): 465members of the House of Representatives(Shūgiin giin,Chúng nghị viện nghị viên ) and 245members of the House of Councillors(Sangiin giin,Tham nghị viện nghị viên ). The former are elected ingeneral/by-/repeat elections of members of the House of Representatives(Shūgiin giin sō-/hoketsu-/sai-senkyo),the latter inregular/by-/repeat elections of members of the House of Councillors(Sangiin giin tsūjō-/hoketsu-/sai-senkyo).Under the postwar constitution, theprime ministeris elected by the National Diet and must be a member of the National Diet, as must the majority of other ministers; by practice, all prime ministers since 1947 have been members of the House of Representatives so far.

Under the constitution of the Empire of Japan, theImperial Diet(Teikoku-gikai) was a bicameral legislature of two houses, generally equal in legislative authority, and while the members of both houses received the same financial compensation - from 1920 and 1947,¥7500 for the two presidents, ¥4500 for the two vice-presidents, ¥3000 for all other members of both houses, except Imperial princes, dukes and marquesses—their status was different by definition: The upper house consisted mainly of hereditary nobles and lifetime-appointed peers, the lower house of elected commoners. In the First Imperial Diet in 1890, there were initially 551 members of the Imperial Diet (Teikoku-gikai giin,Đế quốc nghị hội nghị viên, or incontemporaneous scriptĐế quốc nghị hội nghị viên ): 251members of the House of Peers(Kizokuin giin,Quý tộc viện nghị viên ) and 300 members of the House of Representatives(Shūgiin giin);of the House of Peers members, 10 were members of the Imperial family, 31 were hereditary members from the two uppernobility ranks,104 were members elected in mutual elections from the three lower nobility ranks, 61 were lifetime-appointed members (many of these from the bureaucracy) and 45 were members elected by the 15 top taxpayers in each of the 45 prefectures. The number of noble and appointed members of the House of Peers was not fixed and varied gradually over time as members died or new peerages were granted; the number of elected top taxpayer seats, Imperial Academy seats (introduced in 1925), members appointed from the colonies Chōsen/Korea and Taiwan/Formosa (introduced in 1945), and the size of the House of Representatives was fixed by law, but was also changed several times over the decades. The last, 92nd Imperial Diet of 1946–1947 had 839 members - 466 members of the House of Representatives and 373 members of the House of Peers.As the regulations establishing thecabinet(naikaku)and the cabinet's prime minister(naikaku sōri-daijin)were decreed before the Imperial constitution, the prime minister did not have to be a member of the Imperial Diet, but after the establishment of the Imperial Diet in 1890, many prime ministers were appointed from the House of Peers; very few were members of the House of Representatives,viz.Takashi Hara,Osachi Hamaguchi,andTsuyoshi Inukai.

Kazakhstan

According to the jurisdiction of theRepublic of Kazakhstan,the termdeputy(Kazakh:депутат,romanized:deputat) is the main and widely used word to describe amember of parliament(Kazakh:парламент депутаты,romanized:parlament deputaty) as a whole, encompassing both the lower houseMäjilisand the upper houseSenate.Whilesenatoris also used to interchangeably describe a member of the Senate, the word "deputy" is the inclusive and general term for all 120 members of theParliament.

The 98 deputies of the Mäjilis obtain theirmandatethroughmixed-member majoritarian representation,with 29 deputies elected fromsingle-member districtsand 69 deputies fromclosed-listproportional representation.The Senate consists of 50 deputies, out of which 40 areindirectly electedbymäslihats(local assemblies), while the remaining 10 are appointed by thePresidentand theAssembly of People.

Lebanon

TheParliament of Lebanonis the Lebanese national legislature. It is elected to a four-year term by universal adult suffrage in multi-member constituencies, apportioned among Lebanon's diverse Christian and Muslim denominations. Its major functions are to elect thepresident of the republic,to approve the government (although appointed by the president, the prime minister, along with the Cabinet, must retain the confidence of a majority in the Parliament), and to approve laws and expenditure. The name of a deputy in Arabic isNaeb(نائب). The plural ofNaebisNuwab(نواب).

Netherlands

The Parliament of the Netherlands is known as theStaten-Generaal,theStates General.It is bicameral, divided into twokamers(English: chambers). TheSenateis known in Dutch as theEerste Kamer(First Chamber) and its members assenatoren,senators. TheHouse of Representatives,known in Dutch as theTweede Kamer(Second Chamber), is the most important one. The important debates take place here. Also, the Second Chamber can amend proposed laws and can propose laws itself. The Senate does not have these capabilities. Its function is a more technical reviewing of laws. It can only pass a law or reject it. Both chambers are inThe Hague,which is the seat of parliament but not the official capital of the Netherlands, which isAmsterdam.

The 150 members of the House of Representatives are elected by general elections every four years (or earlier if the government falls). The 75 members of the Senate are elected indirectly. The members of the twelve provincial parliaments and the councils of the three Caribbeanspecial municipalitieselect the senators. The value of a vote of a member of a provincial parliament is weighted by the population of the province. Provincial parliaments, theStates Provincial,are elected by general elections every four years; a new Senate is elected three months after the provincial elections.

North Macedonia

Main article:Assembly of North Macedonia

In the Republic of North Macedonia there are 120 members of parliament (Macedonian:Sobranie) calledPratenici(singularPratenik).

Norway

A member of parliament is an elected member of theStortinget.They are calledstortingsrepresentanter(lit. 'representatives of the Storting'). Since 2009, Norway has had a unicameral parliament, which previously consisted of theOdelstingetandLagtinget;the Odelstinget comprised three-quarters, or 127, of the total 169 members, whereas the Lagtinget comprised the remainder. The dividing of the parliament into chambers was only used when dealing with passing regular laws and in cases of impeachment (riksrett). In other matters, such as passing the national budget or changing the constitution (the latter requiring a majority of two-thirds), the chambers were united.

The members of the unicameral parliament of Norway are chosen by popular vote for a parliamentary period of four years.

Philippines

Further information:Batasang Pambansa

From 1978 to 1984, the Philippine parliament was called theBatasang Pambansa(National Assembly), and its elected members were calledMambabatas Pambansa(National Assemblyman), often shortened to "MP".

Poland

Further information:Sejm of the Republic of Poland

Portugal

The Portuguese parliament is called theAssembleia da República.A member of parliament is known as adeputado,that is, a person who is appointed through democratic election to act on the people's behalf.

Spain

See also:List of members of the Congress of Deputies (Spain)

The wordparlamento—of the same origin as Parliament in English—is used as a common name for all legislative assemblies, and henceparlamentariofor the member of any of them, which can usually refer to members of:

• both chambers of the national legislature (Cortes Generales), theCongress of Deputiesand theSenate.
• the regional devolved legislatures of theAutonomous Communities.
• the European Parliament.

Members of the Congress of Deputies are calleddiputados(deputies), implying that they are elected to act in the name and on behalf of the people they represent. It is also usual to call members of the European Parliamenteurodiputados.Members of the Senate are calledsenadores(senators).

South Africa

TheParliament of South Africaconsists of two houses: theNational Assembly of South Africa(lower house) and theNational Council of Provinces(upper house). Members of both houses are given the titleMember of Parliament.

The National Assembly is made up of 400 members, who are all elected by the public in general elections using aproportional representationsystem withclosed lists.The National Council of Provinces is composed of 90 delegates with 10 delegates for each of the nine provinces regardless of the population of the province. A provincial delegation consists of six permanent delegates and four special delegates. NCOP delegates are elected by the nine provincial legislatures on the day when they reconvene, usually the same day as the National Assembly. The delegates are sworn in the next day.

South Korea

Amember of Parliamentrefers to a member of theParliament of South Korea.A total of 253 MPs are elected using thefirst-past-the-post systemfromparliamentary constituencies,30 MPs are elected byproportional compensation,and 17 MPs are elected bymixed member majoritarian.

In theSecond Republic of Koreaor if theConstitution of South Koreais amended as aparliamentary systemwithbicameralism,only the members of theHouse of Commons of South Koreaare called members of Parliament, while the members of theSenate of South Koreaare called senators.

The members ofprovinciallegislatures are calledmembers of the Legislative AssemblyorMLA.In some provinces, such individuals are called councillors andmembers of the provincial parliament.

Sweden

Main article:Member of Parliament (Sweden)

Members of parliamentrefers to the electedmembersof theRiksdag.In Swedish, an MP is usually referred to as ariksdagsledamot(member of the Riksdag) or ariksdagsman(gentleman of the Riksdag). The former is in more common use today, especially in official contexts, due to its status as aunisexword, while the latter was used more often historically and literally refers to a male MP exclusively.

The parliament is a unicameral assembly with 349 members who are chosen every four years ingeneral elections.To become an MP, a person must be entitled to vote (i.e. be a Swedishcitizen,be at least 18 years old and be or have been resident in Sweden) and must be nominated by apolitical party.The MPs are elected by proportionality in constituencies across the nation. To decide which candidate will be elected themodified Sainte-Laguë methodis used. This method usually but not always gives an accurate result in proportion to cast votes.

The salaries of the MPs are decided by theRiksdag Pay Committee(Riksdagens arvodesnämnd), agovernment agencyunder the Riksdag. Since 1 November 2007, the basic monthly pay of an MP isSEK52,900 (ca. US$6,500). The pay of thespeakeris SEK126,000 a month (ca. US$15,000), which is the same as that of theprime minister.The deputy speakers receive an increment of 30% of the pay of a member. The chairs and deputy chairs of the parliamentary committees receive a similar increment of 20% and 15% respectively.

According to a survey investigation by the sociologist Jenny Hansson,Swedish national parliamentarians have an average workweek of 66 hours, including side responsibilities. Hansson's investigation further reports that the average Swedish national parliamentarian sleeps 6.5 hours per night.

Switzerland

See also:Federal Assembly (Switzerland)

Thailand

In theKingdom of Thailand,members of parliament(Thai:สมาชิกรัฐสภา;RTGS:Samachik Ratthasapha) refer to the members of theNational Assembly of Thailand,that is, themembers of the House of Representativesand thesenators.Following themilitary coup d'étaton 19 September 2006, all members of the assembly were suspended from duty until the next election. The assembly was fully reconvened after thegeneral electionsunder a slightly amended newconstitution.Under the2007 constitutionthere are 650 members of parliament, consisting of 500 members in the House of Representatives, of which 375 elected from constituencies and the other 125 by party-list, and 150 senators.

Turkey

See also:Grand National Assembly of Turkey

In the Republic of Turkey, a member of parliament is an elected member of theGrand National Assembly of Turkey(Turkish:Türkiye Büyük Millet Meclisi, TBMM), which has 600 members elected at a general election for a term of office of five years.

Ukraine

A people's deputy ofUkraine(Ukrainian:народний депутат України, narodnyi deputat Ukrayiny) is a member of parliament orlegislatorelected by apopular voteto theVerkhovna Rada(the unicameral parliament of Ukraine). Often people's deputies of Ukraine are referred to simply as deputies.

The main statutes that define the order of elections, rights and duties of the people's deputies of Ukraine are outlined in Articles 76–81 of theConstitution of Ukraine.There are 450 people's deputies of Ukraine who are elected based on the general, equal and direct electoral right for five years. The deputies may be appointed to various parliamentary positions such as thechairperson (speaker)of parliament, a head of a committee or a parliamentary faction, etc. Upon its appointment, to the office, each people's deputy of Ukraine receives adeputy mandate.

People's deputies that run for parliament as self-nominated candidates can join factions if they wish.

See also

• Deputy (legislator)
• Member of Congress
• Australia and New Zealand Association of Clerks-at-the-Table,an association with the aim of advancing the professional development of parliamentarians.