President of the Victorian Legislative Council

The President of the Victorian Legislative Council, also known as the presiding officer of the council, is the presiding officer of the Victorian Legislative Council, the upper house of the Parliament of Victoria and equivalent to the President of the Australian Senate. When there is a vacancy in the office of president, a new president is elected by the members of the council from among its number. The president ceases to hold that office if they cease to be a member of the council, and can be removed at any time by a vote of the members. The current president is Shaun Leane.

The role of the president

The president is always a member of the Victorian Legislative Council, and is the ceremonial head of that council. The president performs ceremonial duties, and represents the council to other organisations. In conjunction with the Speaker of the Victorian Legislative Assembly, the president is responsible for the administration of the Victorian Parliament. When the council is sitting, the president enforces procedures and assists the smooth running of council meetings. The president is assisted in their duties by a deputy president.

Choosing the president

The president of the Legislative Council is an elected position. When a new president is required, any member of the Legislative Council may propose, during a council sitting, any other present member for the position of president. If more than one member is proposed and seconded, all members must agree to one particular candidate. After election, the president presents his or herself as the choice of the council to be their president.

List of presidents of the Legislative Council

Ordinal	President	Party	Term start	Term end	Time in office	Notes
1	Sir James Frederick Palmer	no party alignment
2	Sir William Mitchell	no party alignment
3	Sir James MacBain	no party alignment
4	Sir William Zeal	no party alignment
5	Sir Henry John Wrixon	no party alignment
6	Sir John Mark Davies	no party alignment
7	Sir Walter Manifold	Nationalist
8	Sir Frank Clarke
9	Sir Clifden Eager
10	Sir Gordon McArthur
11	Sir Ronald Mack	Liberal
12	Sir Raymond Garrett	Liberal
13	William Fry	Liberal
14	Fred Grimwade	Liberal
15	Rod Mackenzie	Labor
16	Alan Hunt	Liberal
17	Bruce Chamberlain	Liberal
18	Monica Gould	Labor
19	Bob Smith	Labor
20	Bruce Atkinson	Liberal
21	Shaun Leane	Labor
22	Nazih Elasmar	Labor
	Shaun Leane	Labor		Incumbent		-