The speaker of the National Assembly presides over the National Assembly of South Africa, the lower house of the Parliament of South Africa.

The office of speaker of the National Assembly was preceded by the offices of speaker of the House of Assembly (1910–1984) under the 1909 and 1961 constitutions and speaker of Parliament under the Tricameral Parliament (1984–1994).

Background The speaker is chosen from among the members of the Assembly at its first sitting following a general election and whenever the office is vacant. The speaker acts as a "referee", taking charge of debates to make sure that the MPs can participate freely while keeping to the rules. The speaker also has managerial duties to ensure that Parliament runs smoothly. Each political party in the Assembly elects 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 decide on the programme of work.

Selection The speaker of the National Assembly is elected to and removed from office in terms of S52 of the Constitution. In terms of this section the:

House must elect the speaker from its members during the first House sitting The house may remove the speaker by resolution The house must fill the position when it becomes vacant during term Chief Justice must preside over the election of the speaker

Mandate The speaker's mandate is twofold. It is constitutional and institutional. This mandate is furthermore dual at the National Assembly and Parliamentary level. In both situations, it involves interacting with the following sectors of the global community:

International Continental Regional National

List of speakers (1854–present)

Cape House of Assembly (1854–1910) Name Portrait Term of office 1 Sir Christoffel Brand 1854–1873 2 Sir David Tennant 1874–1895 3 Sir Henry Juta 1896–1898 4 Sir Bisset Berry 1899–1907 5 James Tennant Molteno 1907–1910

House of Assembly (1910–1994) PortraitNameTerm of officePolitical party Took office Left office Time in office 1 Sir James Tennant MoltenoFrom 1911, Sir James Tennant Molteno 1 November 1910 18 November 1915 South African Party 2 Joel Krige 19 November 1915 24 July 1924 South African Party 3 Ernest George Jansen 25 July 1924 19 June 1929 National Party 4 19 July 1929 25 May 1933 National Party Ernest George Jansen26 May 193321 January 1944 National Party United Party 5 Clifford Meyer van Coller 22 January 1944 5 August 1948 United Party 6 Jozua François Naudé 6 August 1948 7 November 1950 National Party 7 Johannes Conradie 19 January 1951 31 December 1960 National Party 8 Henning Johannes Klopper 20 January 1961 1 August 1974 National Party 9 Alwyn Schlebusch 2 August 1974 25 January 1976 National Party 10 26 January 1976 30 July 1981 National Party 11 J. P. du Toit 31 July 1981 13 February 1983 National Party 12 Johan Greeff 14 February 1983 31 December 1986 National Party 13 Louis le Grange 1 January 1987 25 October 1991 National Party 14 Gene Louw 14 November 1991 9 May 1994 National Party

National Assembly (1994–present) PortraitNameTerm of officePolitical party Took office Left office Time in office 1 Frene Ginwala 9 May 1994 12 July 2004 African National Congress 2 Baleka Mbete 12 July 2004 25 September 2008 African National Congress 3 Gwen Mahlangu-Nkabinde 25 September 2008 6 May 2009 African National Congress 4 Max Sisulu 6 May 2009 21 May 2014 African National Congress Baleka Mbete 21 May 2014 22 May 2019 African National Congress 5 Thandi Modise 22 May 2019 5 August 2021 African National Congress 6 Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula 19 August 2021 3 April 2024 African National Congress 7 Thoko Didiza 14 June 2024 Incumbent African National Congress

Timeline since 1910

See also Parliament of the Cape of Good Hope House of Assembly (South Africa) Tricameral Parliament National Assembly (South Africa)

References

External links South African ministries, etc – Rulers.org