Speaker of the Lok Sabha

Speaker of the Lok Sabha लोक सभा अध्यक्ष
Emblem of India
Incumbent Sumitra Mahajan
Style	The Honourable
Appointer	Members of the Lok Sabha
Term length	During the life of the Lok Sabha (five years maximum)
Inaugural holder	Ganesh Vasudev Mavalankar
Formation	15 May 1952
Website	Speaker's Official Website

The Speaker of the Lok Sabha is the presiding officer of the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament of India. His/her role is similar to that of Speakers elsewhere in other countries that use the Westminster system of government. The speaker is elected in the very first meeting of the Lok Sabha following general elections. Serving for a term of 5 years, he/she is chosen from amongst the members of the Lok Sabha, and is by convention a member of the ruling party or alliance.

The current speaker is Sumitra Mahajan of the Bharatiya Janata Party, who is presiding over the 16th Lok Sabha. She is the second woman to hold the office, after her immediate predecessor Meira Kumar.

Powers and functions of the Speaker

The Speaker of the Lok Sabha conducts the business in the house. He/She decides whether a bill is a money bill or not. He/She maintains discipline and decorum in the house and can punish a member for their unruly behaviour by suspending them. He/She permits the moving of various kinds of motions and resolutions like the motion of no confidence, motion of adjournment, motion of censure and calling attention notice as per the rules. The Speaker decides on the agenda to be taken up for discussion during the meeting. The date of election of speaker is fixed by the President. Further, all comments and speeches made by members of the House are addressed to the speaker. The speaker also presides over the joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament. The counterpart of the Speaker in the Rajya Sabha is the Chairman, who is the Vice President of India. In the warrant of precedence, the speaker of Lok Sabha comes next only to The Prime Minister. Speaker has the fourth rank in the political executive of India.

Protem Speaker

After a general election and the formation of a new government, a list of senior Lok Sabha members prepared by the Legislative Section is submitted to the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, who selects a protem speaker. The appointment has to be approved by the president.

The first meeting after the election when the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker are selected by members of the Parliament is held under the pro tem Speaker. In absence of the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker acts as Speaker and in the absence of both a committee of six member selected by the Speaker will act as Speaker according to their seniority.

List of Speakers

No.	Name	Portrait	Term				Party
			From	To	Length	Lok Sabha
1	Ganesh Vasudev Mavalankar	75px	15 May 1952	27 February 1956		1st	Indian National Congress
2	M. A. Ayyangar	75px	8 March 1956	10 May 1957
			11 May 1957	16 April 1962		2nd
3	Sardar Hukam Singh	75px	17 April 1962	16 March 1967		3rd
4	Neelam Sanjiva Reddy	75px	17 March 1967	19 July 1969		4th
5	Gurdial Singh Dhillon	—	8 August 1969	19 March 1971
			22 March 1971	1 December 1975		5th
6	Bali Ram Bhagat	—	15 January 1976	25 March 1977
(4)	Neelam Sanjiva Reddy	75px	26 March 1977	13 July 1977		6th	Janata Party
7	K. S. Hegde		21 July 1977	21 January 1980
8	Balram Jakhar		22 January 1980	15 January 1985		7th	Indian National Congress
			16 January 1985	18 December 1989		8th
9	Rabi Ray	—	19 December 1989	9 July 1991		9th	Janata Dal
10	Shivraj Patil		10 July 1991	22 May 1996		10th	Indian National Congress
11	P. A. Sangma		23 May 1996	23 March 1998		11th
12	G. M. C. Balayogi	—	24 March 1998	19 October 1999		12th	Telugu Desam Party
			22 October 1999	3 March 2002		13th
13	Manohar Joshi		10 May 2002	2 June 2004			Shiv Sena
14	Somnath Chatterjee	—	4 June 2004	31 May 2009		14th	Communist Party of India (Marxist)
15	Meira Kumar		4 June 2009	4 June 2014		15th	Indian National Congress
16	Sumitra Mahajan		5 June 2014	Incumbent		16th	Bharatiya Janata Party

{reflist} The names, terms of office and Lok Sabhas were taken from:

• Former Speakers. The Office of the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.

External links

• Office of the Lok Sabha Speaker