Presiding Officer of the National Assembly for Wales

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The Presiding Officer of the National Assembly for Wales (Welsh: Llywydd) is the Speaker of the National Assembly for Wales, elected by the Members of the National Assembly for Wales to chair their meetings (plenary sessions); to maintain order; and to protect the rights of Members.

He or she also heads the Corporate Body (known as the Assembly Commission) of the National Assembly for Wales and as such is viewed as a figurehead for the entire organisation. One Deputy Presiding Officer is elected to help fulfil the role. The office of the Presiding Officer is based in Tŷ Hywel and is also responsible for the Pierhead Building in Cardiff Bay.

Role of the Presiding Officer

Elin Jones AM, the current Presiding Officer

The main function is to chair plenary sessions of the Assembly, to maintain order and to protect the rights of Members. He or she is responsible for ensuring that business is handled on the basis of equality and impartiality.

The Presiding Officer is also responsible for Standing Orders and is the final authority on their interpretation. The Presiding Officer also acts as Chair of the National Assembly for Wales Commission, and has special responsibility for promoting democratic engagement, leadership, developing the Assembly’s future legislative powers and external relations

He or she is, along with the Deputy, politically responsible for all aspects of the Presiding Office to which the Standing Orders relate.

The Presiding Officer chairs meetings of the Panel of Subject Committee Chairs, where committee procedures and matters affecting Committee business are discussed. In addition to this, the Presiding Officer acts as the ambassador for the National Assembly, attending speaker’s conferences and other events in order to publicise and raise the profile of the Assembly

Neither the Presiding or the deputy presiding officers are allowed to participate in Assembly votes.

Presiding Officer

List of office holders

Name		Picture	Entered office	Left office	Political party	Notes
	The Rt Hon the Lord Elis-Thomas PC AM		12 May 1999	11 May 2011	Plaid Cymru	Elected unopposed 1999[1], re-elected unopposed 2003 and 2007
	Dame Rosemary Butler DBE AM		11 May 2011	11 May 2016	Labour	Elected unopposed 2011. [2]
	Elin Jones AM		11 May 2016	Incumbent	Plaid Cymru	Elected 2016. Beat Dafydd Elis-Thomas 34 votes to 25 with 1 abstention [3]

Deputy Presiding Officer

List of office holders

Name		Picture	Entered office	Left office	Political party	Notes
	Jane Davidson AM		12 May 1999	17 October 2000	Labour	First Assembly. Elected unopposed.[4]Resigned from post when she became a Government Minister
	John Marek AM		19 October, 2000	7 May 2003	Labour	Remainder of the first Assembly Beat Rosemary Butler 28 votes to 27 [5]
			7 May 2003	9 May 2007	Forward Wales	Second Assembly. Beat Peter Law 30 votes to 29 [6]
	Rosemary Butler AM		9 May 2007	11 May 2011	Labour	Third Assembly Elected unopposed [7]
	David Melding AM		11 May 2011	11 May 2016	Conservative	Fourth Assembly Beat William Graham 46 votes to 12 [8]
	Ann Jones AM		11 May 2016	Incumbent	Labour	Fifth Assembly Beat John Griffiths 30 votes to 29 [9]

See also

• National Assembly for Wales
• Assembly Commission

References