Ex officiomember
Anex officiomemberis a member of a body (notably a board, committee, or council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The termex officioisLatin,meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by right of office'; its use dates back to theRoman Republic.
According toRobert's Rules of Order,the term denotes only how one becomes a member of a body.[1]Accordingly, the rights of anex officiomember are exactly the same as other members unless otherwise stated in regulations or bylaws.[2]It relates to the notion that the position refers to the position the ex officio holds, rather than the individual that holds the position. In some groups,ex officiomembers may frequently abstain from voting.
Opposite notions aredual mandate,when the same person happens to hold two offices or more, although these offices are not in themselves associated; andpersonal union,when two states share the same monarch.
For profit and nonprofit use[edit]
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Anyex officiomembership (for example, of committees, or of the board) is as defined by the nonprofit association'sbylawsor other documents of authority. For example, the bylaws quite often provide that the organization'spresidentwill beex officioa member of all committees, except the nominating committee.
Governmental examples[edit]
Andorra[edit]
ThePresident of the French Republicand theCatholic Bishop of Urgellare by virtue of office (ex officio) appointedCo-Princes of Andorra.
Botswana[edit]
In Botswana's unicameralNational Assembly,thePresident of Botswanaand theSpeakerof the National Assembly serve as the chamber's twoex-officiomembers.[3]
Brazil[edit]
In theEmpire of Brazil,some princes became members by right of theImperial Senateonce they turned 25. In the currentConstitution of Brazil,thePresident of the Federal Senateis anex officioPresident of theNational Congress,even though this office doesn't exist officially.
Canada[edit]
Judges of the Federal Court areex officiomembers of the Federal Court of Appeal, and vice-versa.[4]
China[edit]
According to theConstitution of the Chinese Communist Party,theGeneral Secretary of the Central Committeemust be a member ofPolitburo Standing Committee.[5]
Hong Kong[edit]
As of 2022[update],theExecutive CouncilofHong Kongis still composed ofex officiomembers (official members since 1997) and unofficial members (non-official members since 1997). By practice theex officiomembers include thesecretaries of departments,i.e. theChief Secretary,theFinancial Secretaryand theSecretary for Justice.Since 2002 allsecretaries of bureauxare also appointed by theChief Executiveto be official members of the Executive Council. But since 2005 the secretaries of bureaux attend only when items on the agenda concern their portfolios.
India[edit]
TheVice-President of Indiaisex officioChairman ofRajya Sabha,the Upper House of the Indian Parliament.[6]
ThePrime Minister of Indiaisex officioChairman ofNITI Aayog.Otherex officiomembers of NITI Aayog are theMinister of Home Affairs,theMinister of Finance,theMinister of Railways,and theMinister of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare.[7]
Italy[edit]
FormerPresidentsareex officiomembers for lifeof theSenate.
Philippines[edit]
InCongress,the presiding officers and their deputies, and the majority and minority leaders, areex officiomembers of all committees. The chairman on each chamber's committee on rules is the majority leader. TheSenate Presidentis theex officiochairman of theCommission on Appointments,but can only vote on ties. In theJudicial and Bar Council,several positions are due to occupying another office.
Inprovincial boards,the provincial presidents of theLeague of Barangays(villages),Sangguniang Kabataan(youth councils) and of thePhilippine Councilors Leaguesit asex officioboard members. Incityandmunicipal councils,the city and municipal presidents of the League of Barangays and the youth councils sit asex officiocouncilors. In barangays, the youth council chairman is anex officiomember of thebarangay council.Theex officiomembers have the same rights and privileges as the regular members of each legislature. The deputies of local chief executives (vice governors and vice mayors) areex officiopresiding officers of their respective legislatures, butcan only vote when there is a tie.
Russia[edit]
RussianPrime Minister,chairmans ofState DumaandFederation Council,Chief of Staffand heads offederal subjectsareex officiomembers ofState Council(an advisory body to the head of state).President of Russiais anex officiochairman of it,[8]as well asSecurity Council.[9]
United Kingdom[edit]
House of Lords[edit]
In theHouse of Lords,the bishops of the five Great Sees ofCanterbury,York,London,Durham,andWinchesterareex officiomembers, and are entitled to vote just as any other Lord Spiritual.
Formerly, anyone holding a title in thePeerage of the United Kingdomwasex officioa member of the House of Lords. This entitlement wasabolished in 1999.Since then, only theEarl Marshaland theLord Great Chamberlain(offices that are themselves hereditary) remainex officio;another 90 hereditary peers are elected by and from among those eligible.
Prime Ministers[edit]
ThePrime Minister of the United Kingdomisex officiotheFirst Lord of the Treasury.
Scotland[edit]
TheLord President of the Court of Sessionis by virtue of office appointed as Lord Justice General of Scotland. As such, they are both head of thejudiciary of Scotland,president of theCourt of Session(the most seniorcivil courtinScotland), and president of theHigh Court of Justiciary(the most seniorcriminal courtin Scotland).
United States[edit]
Federal government[edit]
TheVice President of the United States,who also serves as President of theSenate,may vote in the Senate on matters decided by amajority vote(as opposed to a three-fifths vote ortwo-thirds vote), if the votes for passage and rejection are equally divided.[10]Also the leader of the parties in both houses areex officiomembers of theHouseandSenate intelligence committees.Many committee chairs in the House of Representatives areex officiomembers of subcommittees.
Colorado[edit]
In mostColoradocounties, the countysheriffis elected by the citizens of the county. However, in theCity and County of Denver,the mayor of Denver appoints a "Manager of Safety" who oversees the Department of Safety (including the Fire, Police, and Sheriff Departments) and is theex officiosheriff of the jurisdiction. Similarly, in theCity and County of Broomfield, Colorado,near Denver, the police chief (an appointed position) also actsex officioas the county sheriff.[11]
New York City[edit]
The Speaker of theNew York City Council,and its Majority and Minority Leaders, are allex officiomembers of each of its committees. Furthermore, each member of the Council is a non-votingex officiomember of eachcommunity boardwhose boundaries include any of the council member's constituents.[12]
References[edit]
- ^ Robert, Henry M. (2011). Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised,11th ed., p. 483–484 (RONR)
- ^"Frequently Asked Questions about RONR (Question 2)".The Official Robert's Rules of Order Web Site.The Robert's Rules Association. Archived fromthe originalon 2004-11-12.
- ^"FAQs".parliament.gov.bw.Parliament of Botswana.Retrieved12 January2023.
2 are Ex-officios being the President and The Speaker.
- ^Federal Courts Act,RSC 1985, c. F-7, §5(1)(c)
- ^Chapter III Central Organizations of the Party Article 22
- ^"Rajya Sabha – An Introduction".Rajya Sabha Secretariat.
- ^"Constitution, NITI Aayog".NITI Aayog.
- ^"State Council structure".kremlin.ru.
- ^"Security Council structure".kremlin.ru.
- ^"The 1st Article of the U.S. Constitution".National Constitution Center.Archived fromthe originalon 2023-07-22.Retrieved2019-04-03.
- ^"Broomfield Police Department | City and County of Broomfield - Official Website".
- ^"Chapter 70—City Government in the Community—NYC Laws 0.0.1 documentation".nyclaws.readthedocs.io. Archived fromthe originalon 2022-04-08.Retrieved2020-01-21.