Senator for life

A senator for life is a member of the senate elected or appointed for lifetime. Currently, a few members of the Italian Senate are lifetime senators. Several South American countries once granted lifetime membership to former presidents but have since abolished that practice. TOCright

Italy

Overview

In Italy, a "senatore a vita" is a member of the Italian Senate appointed by the President of the Italian Republic "for outstanding patriotic merits in the social, scientific, artistic or literary field". Former Presidents of the Republic are "ex officio" life senators. A limit of five senators for life, excluding former Presidents, is established by the Italian constitution, though there is a still unsolved debate as to whether each President of the Republic has the right to name five senators for life, or if five is the maximum allowed number of senators for life. Till 1984 this last interpretation was considered correct, but in that year President Pertini applied the second interpretation of the Constitution, and since then no measures have been taken to clarify this situation, made even more important by the key role senators for life had during the second Prodi Government. They have the same equal power of elected senators, including the right to vote and being elected to the Presidency of the Senate. In addition, their mandate does not end with the dissolution of a Senate, allowing them to sit in any elected Senate for their whole lifetime.

Every President of the Italian Republic has made at least one appointment of a senator for life, with the exception of Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, and sitting President Giorgio Napolitano so far. The president who appointed the highest number of senators for life was Luigi Einaudi, who made eight nominations during his mandate.

List of Italian life senators

As of 2008, there are seven in office:
*Giulio Andreotti - aged Age in years and days|1919|1|14
*Carlo Azeglio Ciampi - Age in years and days|1920|12|9
*Emilio Colombo - Age in years and days|1920|4|11
*Francesco Cossiga [Cossiga resigned 27 November 2006, however his demission was rejected by a Senate vote on 31 January, 2007] - Age in years and days|1928|7|26
*Rita Levi-Montalcini - Age in years and days|1909|4|22
*Sergio Pininfarina - Age in years and days|1926|9|8
*Oscar Luigi Scalfaro - Age in years and days|1918|9|9

Former lifetime senators:

ee also

*Lord Temporal
*Lord Spiritual
*Term limits

Notes

External links

* [http://www.senato.it/leg/14/BGT/Schede/Attsen/SenatoriAVita.html Senato.it: Senatori a vita] it icon — current Italian lifetime senators