President of the Senate of South Africa

The president of the Senate presided over the Senate of South Africa, the upper house of the Parliament of South Africa. The president was chosen from among the senators at its first sitting following a general election and whenever the office was vacant. The president acted as a "referee", taking charge of debates to make sure that the senators could participate freely while keeping to the rules. The president also had managerial duties to ensure that Senate runs smoothly. Each political party in the Senate elected a chief whip to run its affairs. The presiding officers, the chief whips, and the leader of government business (the person appointed by the Cabinet to liaise with Parliament) together decided on the programme of work.

The president of the Senate had a dormant commission to become acting State President of South Africa when there was a vacancy in that office, which was often the case, especially between 1967 and 1979.

The Senate was abolished for the first time in 1980, with effect from 1 January 1981, during a process of constitutional reform, and replaced with the President's Council. The Senate was briefly reestablished under the 1993 interim constitution. The Senate was abolished for the second and final time under the 1997 constitution. The office of president of the Senate was succeeded by the office of chairperson of the National Council of Provinces.

List of presidents (1910–1980 and 1994–1997)

PortraitNameTerm of officePolitical party Took office Left office Time in office Presidents of the First Senate (1910–1980) 1 Francis William Reitz 1 November 1910 10 March 1921 South African Party 2 H. C. van Heerden 11 March 1921 30 June 1929 South African Party 3 R. A. Kerr 19 July 1929 16 January 1930 National Party 417 January 193018 January 1940 National Party United Party 5 François Stephanus Malan 19 January 1940 31 December 1941 United Party 6 12 January 1942 31 December 1945 United Party 7 Pieter Jurie Wessels 18 January 1946 5 August 1948 United Party 6 August 1948 19 January 1961 National Party 8 Jozua François Naudé 20 January 1961 31 May 1969 National Party 9 Johannes de Klerk 6 June 1969 January 1976 National Party 10 Marais Viljoen 23 January 1976 18 June 1979 National Party 11 Jimmy Kruger 19 June 1979 31 December 1980 National Party Post abolished (1 January 1981 – 20 May 1994) President of the Second Senate (1994–1997) 12 Kobie Coetsee 20 May 1994 4 February 1997 National Party

Timeline

President of the Senate of South Africa

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