Asenator for life is a member of thesenate or equivalentupper chamber of alegislature who haslife tenure. As of 2023[update], fiveItalian senators out of 205, two out of the 41Burundian senators, oneCongolese senator out of 109, and all members of the BritishHouse of Lords (apart from the 26Lords Spiritual who are expected to retire at the age of 70) have lifetime tenure (although Lords can choose to resign or retire or can be expelled in cases of misconduct). SeveralSouth American countries once granted lifetime membership to former presidents but have since abolished the practice.
The2006 constitution of theDemocratic Republic of the Congo grants lifetime membership in theSenate to formerpresidents of the Republic.[1] As of 2025,Joseph Kabila is the only senator for life after serving as president from 2001 to 2019.
The 1964 Congolese constitution also provided for life membership in the Senate for former presidents.[2]
InItaly, a senator for life (Italian:senatore a vita) is a member of theItalian Senate appointed by thePresident "for outstandingpatriotic merits in thesocial,scientific,artistic orliterary field". There may be up to five appointed senators for life at the same time. Former presidents areex officio senators for life. Currently there are five senators for life (five appointed).
Formerpresidents of the Republic, except for those who were impeached from office, are granted the speaking-but-non-voting position ofsenator for life.[3]
The lifetime senatorship appeared in theConstitution of Russia as a result of theconstitutional reform in 2020. According to the new version of the Constitution, thepresident has the right to appoint 30 senators for services to the country in the sphere of state and public activity, 7 of whom can be appointed for life. In addition, former presidents (except for those who were impeached from office) become senators for life, but have the right to refuse this office. This was widely seen as a preparation for a future power transition.[4]
TheRwandan Constitution permits formerpresidents of the country to become members of theSenate if they wish, by submitting a request to theSupreme Court.[5]
InBurundi, formerpresidents of the Republic served in theSenate for life until 2018 constitutional reform.
In a manner reminiscent of theBritish House of Lords, members of theCanadian Senate were appointed for life. Since theConstitution Act, 1965, however, senators must retire upon reaching the age of 75. Though senators appointed before the amendment were grandfathered in by the legislation, there are no longer any lifetime senators present in the Canadian Senate.Orville Howard Phillips, the last senator for life, resigned his seat in 1999.
InFrance, during theThird Republic, theSenate was composed of 300 members, 75 of which wereinamovible ("unremovable"). Introduced in 1875, the status was abolished for new senators in 1884, but maintained for those already in office.Émile Deshayes de Marcère, the last survivingsénateur inamovible, died in 1918. Overall there had been 116 lifetime senators.[6]
In 2005, there was questioning about the status of formerpresidents of the Republic. According to the constitution of theFifth Republic, former presidents arede jure members of theConstitutional Council, which poses a problem of possible partiality. Some members ofParliament and commentators suggested that it should be replaced by a life membership in theSenate.[7][8] This proposal was, however, not enacted.
The1923 Constitution instituted the membership by right (senator de drept) in theSenate for:
The membership by right was maintained under the1938 Constitution and it was abolished together with the Senate on July 15, 1946, by theCommunist Party-dominated government ofPetru Groza.
Although the currentconstitution of Romania re-established the bicameralParliament in 1991, it did not reinstate the office of senator by right.
TheRoman Senate, which existed in various forms between the founding of thecity of Rome in 753 BC and thefall of theByzantine Empire in the 15th century AD, was composed of senators which served for life, the number of whom fluctuated from 100 to thousands of men.
Theconstitutions of a number of countries inSouth America have granted former presidents the right to be senator for life (senador vitalicio), possibly recalling the entirely unelected Senate ofSimón Bolívar's theory(seeBolivar's tricameralism). Most of these countries have since excised these provisions as they are increasingly seen as antidemocratic. TheConstitution of Paraguay still has such a provision. Former presidents are permitted to speak but not vote.
The senators of theEmpire of Brazil (1826–1889) were appointed for life by theEmperor from a list of three, indirectly elected, candidates for each constituency.For details, seeSenate of Brazil § History. There were about 250 senators of the Empire of Brazil.For the list of senators, seeList of senators in Brazil.
While the1960 constitution of theSomali Republic (1960–1969) did not provide for a senate (the legislature, known as the National Assembly, was unicameral), it did grant lifetime membership in the legislature to ex-presidents of the Republic.[12]Aden Adde was the only person eligible to hold this position.
During theConstitutional Convention of 1787,New York delegateAlexander Hamilton proposed that all members of theU.S. Senate, which was at time appointed bystate legislatures and intended to check the power of the popularly electedHouse of Representatives, be appointed for life as a safeguard against "amazing violence and turbulence of the democratic spirit." His views did not prevail, and the final U.S. Constitution specified six-year terms for senators.[13]
Larry J. Sabato, a political scientist at theUniversity of Virginia, proposed establishing lifetime Senate appointments for former presidents and former vice presidents as part of a broad set of political proposals in his 2007 book,A More Perfect Constitution.[14]