Anex officio member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, or council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The termex officio isLatin, 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 officio member 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 officio members 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.
Anyex officio membership (for example, of committees, or of the board) is as defined by the nonprofit association'sbylaws or other documents of authority. For example, the bylaws quite often provide that the organization'spresident will beex officio a member of all committees, except the nominating committee.[3]
Thepresident of the French Republic and theCatholic Bishop of Urgell are by virtue of office (ex officio) appointedCo-Princes of Andorra.
Within theAustralian political system, theLiberal–National Coalition is analliance ofcentre-right political parties that forms one of the two major groupings inAustralian federal politics. The two major partners in the Coalition are theLiberal Party of Australia and theNational Party of Australia with each partner being a stand-alone organisation that elects its own leadership. Theleader of the Liberals generally serves as theex officio Leader of the Coalition whereas the leader of the Nationals serves as theex officio Deputy Leader of the Coalition.
In the above arrangement, when a Coalition is elected to government inAustralia or the countries States or territories, convention is that the larger partner, usually the Liberals, hold the office ofPrime Minister,Premier or Chief Minister whereas the smaller partner, usually the Nationals, hold office as theDeputy Prime Minister or Deputy Premier. The respective offices are determined based on the size of the respective alliance partner and their independently of one another chosen leader.
The Coalition generally results in the Prime Minister or Premier from the respective jurisdiction being from a metropolitan area (the Liberals) and guarantees a rural or regional Deputy Prime Minister or Premier (from the Nationals). The Leader of the Nationals is usually given the right to choose his or herministry within government by virtue of being the second-most senior position within the Coalition partnership.
In Botswana's unicameralNational Assembly, thepresident of Botswana and theSpeaker of the National Assembly serve as the chamber's twoex-officio members.[4]
In theEmpire of Brazil, some princes became members by right of theImperial Senate once they turned 25. In the currentConstitution of Brazil, thePresident of the Federal Senate is anex officio President of theNational Congress, even though this office doesn't exist officially.
Judges of the Federal Court areex officio members of the Federal Court of Appeal, and vice versa.[5]
Former presidents of the Republic areex officio members of theConseil constitutionnel until death.[6]
As of 2022[update], theExecutive Council ofHong Kong is still composed ofex officio members (official members since 1997) and unofficial members (non-official members since 1997). By practice theex officio members include thesecretaries of departments, i.e. theChief Secretary, theFinancial Secretary and theSecretary for Justice. Since 2002 allsecretaries of bureaux are also appointed by theChief Executive to be official members of the Executive Council. But since 2005 the secretaries of bureaux attend only when items on the agenda concern their portfolios.
TheVice-President of India isex officio Chairman ofRajya Sabha, the Upper House of the Indian Parliament.[7]
Theprime minister of India isex officio Chairman ofNITI Aayog. Otherex officio members of NITI Aayog are theMinister of Home Affairs, theMinister of Finance, theMinister of Railways, and theMinister of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare.[8]
Formerpresidents areex officiomembers for life of theSenate.
InCongress, the presiding officers and their deputies, and the majority and minority leaders, areex officio members of all committees. The chairman on each chamber's committee on rules is the majority leader. TheSenate President is theex officio chairman 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 League sit asex officio board members. Incity andmunicipal councils, the city and municipal presidents of the League of Barangays and the youth councils sit asex officio councilors. In barangays, the youth council chairman is anex officio member of thebarangay council. Theex officio members 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 officio presiding officers of their respective legislatures, butcan only vote when there is a tie.
Russianprime minister, chairmans ofState Duma andFederation Council,chief of staff and heads offederal subjects areex officio members ofState Council (an advisory body to the head of state).President of Russia is anex officio chairman of it,[9] as well asSecurity Council.[10]
In theHouse of Lords, the bishops of the five Great Sees ofCanterbury,York,London,Durham, andWinchester areex officio members, and are entitled to vote just as any other Lord Spiritual.
Formerly, anyone holding a title in thePeerage of the United Kingdom wasex officio a member of the House of Lords. This entitlement wasabolished in 1999. Since then, only theEarl Marshal and theLord Great Chamberlain (offices that are themselves hereditary) remainex officio; another 90 hereditary peers are elected by and from among those eligible.
Theprime minister of the United Kingdom isex officio theFirst Lord of the Treasury.
TheLord President of the Court of Session is 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 court inScotland), and president of theHigh Court of Justiciary (the most seniorcriminal court in Scotland).
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.[11] Also the leader of the parties in both houses areex officio members of theHouse andSenate intelligence committees. Many committee chairs in the House of Representatives areex officio members of subcommittees.
In mostColorado counties, the countysheriff is 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 officio sheriff of the jurisdiction. Similarly, in theCity and County of Broomfield, Colorado, near Denver, the police chief (an appointed position) also actsex officio as the county sheriff.[12]
The Speaker of theNew York City Council, and its Majority and Minority Leaders, are allex officio members of each of its committees. Furthermore, each member of the Council is a non-votingex officio member of eachcommunity board whose boundaries include any of the council member's constituents.[13]
TheBishop of Coimbra is by virtue of office (ex officio) entitled to theCountship of Arganil, a title they have never renounced after Portugal became a republic.
2 are Ex-officios being the President and The Speaker.