Membership by virtue of holding a specific other position
"Ex officio" redirects here. For the English court procedure, see
Ex officio
oath
.
An
ex officio
member
is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term
ex officio
is
Latin
, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by right of office'; its use dates back to the
Roman Republic
.
According to
Robert's Rules of Order
, the term denotes only how one becomes a member of a body.
[1]
Accordingly, the rights of an
ex 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 are
dual mandate
, when the same person happens to hold two offices or more, although these offices are not in themselves associated; and
personal union
, when two states share the same monarch.
For profit and nonprofit use
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Any
ex officio
membership (for example, of committees, or of the board) is as defined by the nonprofit association's
bylaws
or other documents of authority. For example, the bylaws quite often provide that the organization's
president
will be
ex officio
a member of all committees, except the nominating committee.
Governmental examples
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Andorra
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The
President of the French Republic
and the
Catholic Bishop of Urgell
are by virtue of office (
ex officio
) appointed
Co-Princes of Andorra
.
Botswana
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In Botswana's unicameral
National Assembly
, the
President of Botswana
and the
Speaker
of the National Assembly serve as the chamber's two
ex-officio
members.
[3]
Brazil
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In the
Empire of Brazil
, some princes became members by right of the
Imperial Senate
once they turned 25. In the current
Constitution of Brazil
, the
President of the Federal Senate
is an
ex officio
President of the
National Congress
, even though this office doesn't exist officially.
Canada
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Judges of the Federal Court are
ex officio
members of the Federal Court of Appeal, and vice-versa.
[4]
China
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According to the
Constitution of the Chinese Communist Party
, the
General Secretary of the Central Committee
must be a member of
Politburo Standing Committee
.
[5]
Hong Kong
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As of 2022
[update]
, the
Executive Council
of
Hong Kong
is still composed of
ex officio
members (official members since 1997) and unofficial members (non-official members since 1997). By practice the
ex officio
members include the
secretaries of departments
, i.e. the
Chief Secretary
, the
Financial Secretary
and the
Secretary for Justice
. Since 2002 all
secretaries of bureaux
are also appointed by the
Chief 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.
India
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The
Vice-President of India
is
ex officio
Chairman of
Rajya Sabha
, the Upper House of the Indian Parliament.
[6]
The
Prime Minister of India
is
ex officio
Chairman of
NITI Aayog
. Other
ex officio
members of NITI Aayog are the
Minister of Home Affairs
, the
Minister of Finance
, the
Minister of Railways
, and the
Minister of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare
.
[7]
Italy
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Former
Presidents
are
ex officio
members for life
of the
Senate
.
Philippines
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In
Congress
, the presiding officers and their deputies, and the majority and minority leaders, are
ex officio
members of all committees. The chairman on each chamber's committee on rules is the majority leader. The
Senate President
is the
ex officio
chairman of the
Commission on Appointments
, but can only vote on ties. In the
Judicial and Bar Council
, several positions are due to occupying another office.
In
provincial boards
, the provincial presidents of the
League of Barangays
(villages),
Sangguniang Kabataan
(youth councils) and of the
Philippine Councilors League
sit as
ex officio
board members. In
city
and
municipal councils
, the city and municipal presidents of the League of Barangays and the youth councils sit as
ex officio
councilors. In barangays, the youth council chairman is an
ex officio
member of the
barangay council
. The
ex 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) are
ex officio
presiding officers of their respective legislatures, but
can only vote when there is a tie
.
Russia
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Russian
Prime Minister
, chairmans of
State Duma
and
Federation Council
,
Chief of Staff
and heads of
federal subjects
are
ex officio
members of
State Council
(an advisory body to the head of state).
President of Russia
is an
ex officio
chairman of it,
[8]
as well as
Security Council
.
[9]
United Kingdom
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House of Lords
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In the
House of Lords
, the bishops of the five Great Sees of
Canterbury
,
York
,
London
,
Durham
, and
Winchester
are
ex officio
members, and are entitled to vote just as any other Lord Spiritual.
Formerly, anyone holding a title in the
Peerage of the United Kingdom
was
ex officio
a member of the House of Lords. This entitlement was
abolished in 1999
. Since then, only the
Earl Marshal
and the
Lord Great Chamberlain
(offices that are themselves hereditary) remain
ex officio
; another 90 hereditary peers are elected by and from among those eligible.
Prime Ministers
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The
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
is
ex officio
the
First Lord of the Treasury
.
Scotland
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The
Lord 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 the
judiciary of Scotland
, president of the
Court of Session
(the most senior
civil court
in
Scotland
), and president of the
High Court of Justiciary
(the most senior
criminal court
in Scotland).
United States
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Federal government
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The
Vice President of the United States
, who also serves as President of the
Senate
, may vote in the Senate on matters decided by a
majority vote
(as opposed to a three-fifths vote or
two-thirds vote
), if the votes for passage and rejection are equally divided.
[10]
Also the leader of the parties in both houses are
ex officio
members of the
House
and
Senate intelligence committees
. Many committee chairs in the House of Representatives are
ex officio
members of subcommittees
.
Colorado
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In most
Colorado
counties, the county
sheriff
is elected by the citizens of the county. However, in the
City 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 the
ex officio
sheriff of the jurisdiction. Similarly, in the
City and County of Broomfield, Colorado
, near Denver, the police chief (an appointed position) also acts
ex officio
as the county sheriff.
[11]
New York City
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The Speaker of the
New York City Council
, and its Majority and Minority Leaders, are all
ex officio
members of each of its committees. Furthermore, each member of the Council is a non-voting
ex officio
member of each
community board
whose boundaries include any of the council member's constituents.
[12]
References
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