Senate
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[[Image:US Senate Session Chamber.jpg|thumb|242x|right|A regular legislative senate.]]
{{Legislature}}
A '''senate''' is a [[deliberative body]], often the [[upper house]] or chamber of a [[legislature]]. There have been many such bodies in history, the first of which was the [[Roman Senate]].
== Overview ==
The word ''senatorial'' is derived from the [[Latin]] word ''senātus'' (senate), which comes from ''senex'', "old man". The members or legislators of a senate are called '''senators'''. The Latin word ''senator'' was adopted into English with no change in spelling. Its meaning is derived from a very ancient form of simple social organization in which decision-making powers are reserved for the eldest men. For the same reason, the word ''senate'' is correctly used when referring to any powerful authority characteristically composed by the eldest members of a community, as a deliberative body of a faculty in an institution of higher learning is often called a senate. The original senate was the [[Roman Senate]], which lasted until [[580]]. In the [[Eastern Roman Empire]], the [[Byzantine Senate]] continued until the [[Fourth Crusade]].
Modern democratic states with [[bicameral]] [[parliamentary system]]s are sometimes equipped with a senate, often distinguished from an ordinary parallel [[lower house]], known variously as the "[[House of Representatives]]", "[[House of Commons]]", "[[Chamber of Deputies]]", "[[National Assembly]]", "[[Legislative Assembly]]", or "[[House of Assembly]]", by electoral rules. This may include minimum age required for voters and candidates, proportional or [[Majoritarianism|majoritarian]] or [[plurality]] system, and an electoral basis or ''collegium''. Typically, the senate is referred to as the upper house and has a smaller membership than the lower house. In some [[federal state]]s senates also exist at the subnational level. In the [[United States]] all states other than [[Nebraska]] have a state senate. In [[Australia]] all states other than [[Queensland]] have an upper house known as a [[legislative council]]. Several Canadian provinces also once had legislative councils, but these have all been abolished, the last being [[Quebec]]'s [[Quebec Legislative Council|Legislative Council]] in [[1968]].
Senate membership can be determined either through elections or appointments. For example, elections are held every three years for half the membership of the [[Australian Senate]], the term of a senator being six years. In contrast, members of the [[Senate of Canada|Canadian Senate]] are appointed by the [[Governor General of Canada|Governor General]] upon the recommendation of the [[Prime Minister of Canada]], holding the office until they resign, are removed, or retire at the mandatory age of 75. Some states have a combination of these two approaches, such as the [[Jamaican Senate]], where thirteen are appointed by the prime minister and eight by the [[Opposition (parliamentary)|leader of the opposition]]. In larger countries, the senate often serves a balancing effect by giving a larger share of power to regions or groups which would otherwise be overwhelmed under strictly popular [[apportionment]].
[[Image:CAsenate.jpg|thumb|250px|The interior of the [[Canadian Senate]]]]
== Alternative meanings ==
The terms Senate and Senator, however, do not necessarily refer to a second chamber of a legislature:
* In Finland, until 1919, the [[Senate of Finland|Senate]] was the executive branch and the supreme court.
* In the German [[States of Germany|Bundesländer]] of [[Berlin]], [[Bremen (state)|Bremen]] and [[Hamburg]], the Senates (or ''[[:wikt:Senat|Senat]]'' in [[German language|German]]) are the executive branch, with Senator (''Senator'') being the holders of ministerial portfolios. Moreover, also in Germany, bodies of usually five [[judges]] in higher [[court of appeal|courts of appeal]] hearing and deciding cases are called "senates", although the judges are not called "senators". However, in the Land of [[Bavaria]], the Senate was the upper house of parliament until its abolition in [[1999]].
* In [[Scotland]], judges of the [[High Court of Justiciary]] are called [[Senators of the College of Justice]].
* In some, mostly federal countries with a unicameral legislature, some of the legislators are elected differently from the others and are called Senators. In federal countries, such Senators represent the territories, while the other members represent the people at large (this device is used to allow a federal representation without having to establish a bicameral legislature); this is the case with [[St. Kitts and Nevis]], [[Comoros]] and [[Micronesia]]. In other, non-federal countries, the use of the term Senator marks some other difference between such members and the rest of the legislators (such as the method of selection); this is the case with the [[States of Jersey|States]] of [[Jersey]] and [[Dominica]]'s [[House of Assembly of Dominica|House of Assembly]].
* The Senate can be the ruling body of a university.
== National senates in the world ==
{{columns |width=300px
|col1 =
*[[Senate of Antigua and Barbuda|Antigua and Barbuda]]
*[[Argentine Senate|Argentina]]
*[[Australian Senate|Australia]]
*[[Parliament of the Bahamas#Senate|Bahamas]]
*[[Senate of Barbados|Barbados]]
*[[Belgian Senate|Belgium]]
*[[Senate of Belize|Belize]]
*[[Senate of Bolivia|Bolivia]]
*[[Senate of Brazil|Brazil]]
*[[Senate of Burundi|Burundi]]
*[[Senate of Cambodia|Cambodia]]
*[[Canadian Senate|Canada]]
*[[Senate of Chile|Chile]]
*[[Senate of Colombia|Colombia]]
*[[Senate of the Democratic Republic of the Congo|Democratic Republic of the Congo]]
*[[Senate of the Republic of Congo|Republic of Congo]]
*[[Senate of the Czech Republic|Czech Republic]]
|col2 =
*[[Senate of the Dominican Republic|Dominican Republic]]
*[[Senate (Fiji)|Fiji]]
*[[French Senate|France]]
*[[Senate of Gabon|Gabon]]
*[[Senate of Grenada|Grenada]]
*[[Senate of Haïti|Haiti]]
*[[Seanad Éireann|Ireland]]
*[[Italian Senate|Italy]]
*[[Senate of Jamaica|Jamaica]]
*[[Senate of Jordan|Jordan]]
*[[Senate of Kazakhstan|Kazakhstan]]
*[[Senate of Lesotho|Lesotho]]
*[[Senate of Liberia|Liberia]]
*[[Senate of Madagascar|Madagascar]]
*[[Dewan Negara|Malaysia]]
*[[Senate of Mexico|Mexico]]
|col3 =
*[[Nigerian Senate|Nigeria]]
*[[Senate of Palau|Palau]]
*[[Senate of Pakistan|Pakistan]]
*[[Senate of Paraguay|Paraguay]]
*[[Senate of the Philippines|Philippines]]
*[[Senate of Poland|Poland]]
*[[Senate of Romania|Romania]]
*[[Senate of Rwanda|Rwanda]]
*[[Senate of Saint Lucia|Saint Lucia]]
*[[Spanish Senate|Spain]]
*[[Senate of Swaziland|Swaziland]]
*[[United States Senate|United States]]
*[[Uruguay]]
*[[Senate of Zimbabwe|Zimbabwe]]
}}
== Defunct senates ==
{{columns |width=300px
|col1 =
'''Abolished in favor of'''<br/>'''[[unicameral]] system'''
* 1863 [[Greek Senate|Greece]]*
* 1951 [[New Zealand Legislative Council|New Zealand]]
* 1958 [[Politics of Sudan|Sudan]]
* 1966 [[Politics of Kenya|Kenya]]
* 1981 [[Senate of South Africa|South Africa]]**
* 2000 [[Bavaria#Politics|Bavaria]]
* 2001 [[Parliament of Croatia|Croatia]]
* 2001 [[Politics of Senegal|Senegal]]
* 2005 [[Politics of Chad|Chad]]
|col2 =
'''Legislature disbanded'''
* {{spaces|2}}603 [[Roman Senate|Roman Republic/Empire]]
* 1204 [[Byzantine Senate|Byzantine Empire]]
* 1865 [[Congress of the Confederate States|Confederate States of America]]
* 1831-1879 [[Senate (Montenegro)|Montenegro]]
* 1931-1941 [[Senate (Yugoslavia)|Yugoslavia]]
* 1952 [[Politics of Egypt|Egypt]]
* 1955 [[Politics of Guyana|British Guiana (now Guyana)]]
* 1958 [[Politics of Iraq|Iraq]]
* 1969 [[Politics of Libya|Libya]]
* 1972 [[Senate of Northern Ireland|Northern Ireland]]
* 1974 [[Politics of Ethiopia|Ethiopia]]
* 1975 [[South Vietnam#Politics|South Vietnam]]
|col3 =
'''New [[constitution]] adopted'''
* 1890 [[Genrōin|Japan]]
* 1901-1903 [[Senate (Serbia)|Serbia]]
* 1917 [[Governing Senate|Russia]]
* 1917 [[Senate of Finland|Finland]]
* 1926 [[Politics of Portugal|Portugal]]
* 1928 [[Politics of Albania|Albania]]
* 1949 [[Politics of Malta|Malta]]
* 1950 [[Politics of Indonesia|Indonesia]]
* 1972 [[Senate of Ceylon|Ceylon (now Sri Lanka)]]
* 1979 [[Iranian Senate|Iran]]
* 1979 [[Politics of Nicaragua|Nicaragua]]
* 1982 [[Politics of Turkey|Turkey]]
* 1993 [[Congress of Peru|Peru]]
* 2000 [[National Assembly of Venezuela|Venezuela]]
}}
{{smaller|* A [[Greek Senate]] was reestablished in 1927, and abolished again in 1935.<br> ** A South African Senate was reconvened between 1994 and 1997, before being replaced by the [[National Council of Provinces]].}}
== Fictional senates ==
*[[Star Wars]] Universe:
**[[Galactic Republic|Galactic Senate of the Republic]]
**[[Galactic Empire (Star Wars)|Imperial Senate]]
**[[New Republic (Star Wars)|New Republic Senate]]
**Galactic Alliance Senate
*[[Star Trek]] Universe:
**[[Romulan Star Empire|Romulan Senate]]
== See also ==
*[[Senator for life]]
== External links ==
* [http://www.livius.org/se-sg/senate/senator.html Livius.org: Roman Senate]
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