Parliamentary systems Australia and New Zealand In
Australian and
New Zealand politics, the party figure commonly described as "leader" is usually an MP responsible for managing the party's business within parliament. Party constitutions will typically distinguish between the parliamentary leader and the organisational leader (who typically is outside of parliament), with the latter often termed a "federal president" or "party president". The two roles are organisationally distinct even if close cooperation is expected. They serve as interim legislative leaders, when a party leader either has no seat in the legislative body, during a transition period preceding, or following a leadership contest.
European Parliament Each of the seven
political groups of the European Parliament has its own group leader. The groups within the European Parliament are often very broad, so the position of the group leader is a unifying one—they may help to consolidate MEPs with similar outlooks ahead of important votes.
Germany In German politics, leaders of the major parties have often been heads of government of the various states rather than members of the national parliament. Hence, the position of parliamentary leader in the
federal parliament (Germany also has 16 state parliaments) is often occupied by a different person. The parliamentary leader has the supreme responsibility for coordinating the work of the MPs representing their party. Even when the party leader is a member of the national parliament, the parliamentary leader can be a different person. For instance,
Friedrich Merz was parliamentary leader while
Angela Merkel was party leader for some years while the
CDU was in opposition. If the party leader is the
chancellor or a member of the government, another person always is the parliamentary leader.
Netherlands In both houses of the
Dutch parliament, parliamentary leaders are formally elected by their peers in the parliamentary group. In the
House of Representatives, leaders of opposition parties are also their parties' parliamentary leader. Leaders of coalition parties might choose to enter the cabinet, serving as
prime minister if their party is the largest in the coalition or otherwise as
deputy prime minister. Otherwise they remain parliamentary leaders.
United Kingdom In
British politics, the leader of a party is typically the same person as the parliamentary leader. The leader may not fully control the party bureaucracy. The leader may be chosen by
members of parliament (MPs) from among their number, or elected by the wider party membership at a
party conference, but once elected must retain the support of the parliamentary party. Some smaller parties have parliamentary leaders in the
national parliament (in Westminster) who are separate from the party leaders—the party leader may hold office in a
devolved (sub-national) parliament or assembly. The party leader of the
Scottish nationalist SNP is
John Swinney, who serves as
first minister of Scotland, and does not sit at Westminster. The parliamentary group of the SNP at the Westminster parliament is led by SNP MP
Stephen Flynn.
Presidential systems Palau The
legislatures of most
Palauan states have a floor leader (equivalent to a parliamentary leader). So does the
Senate and
House of Delegates.
Philippines In the Philippines, each body of the bicameral
Congress has a majority floor leader and a minority floor leader. For the
Senate, there is the
majority floor leader of the Senate and the
minority floor leader of the Senate. For the
House of Representatives there is the
majority floor leader of the House and the
minority floor leader of the House. Officeholders do not represent political parties but rather political groupings within each body.
United States Senate In the
United States Senate, they are elected by their respective party conferences to serve as the chief Senate spokespeople for their parties and to manage and schedule the legislative and executive business of the Senate. By custom, the
presiding officer (officially the
Vice President, in their role as President of the Senate, or the
President pro tempore, who is usually the most
senior U.S. senator in the majority party and typically serves in the Vice President's absence) gives the floor leaders priority in obtaining recognition to speak on the
floor of the Senate. In the Senate's two-party system, the floor leaders are the spokespeople from both major parties, elected by their parties. They also serve essentially as executives of their parties within the Senate. The floor leaders are referred to as the
Senate majority leader, who belongs to the party with the most senators, and the
Senate minority leader, who belongs to the other major party.
House of Representatives Similar positions exist in the
United States House of Representatives, except that the role of
House Majority Leader normally goes to the second-highest member of the leadership of the majority party, because it traditionally elects its party leader to the position of
Speaker. In contrast
House Minority Leader serves as floor leader of the "loyal opposition," and is the minority counterpart to the Speaker.
State legislatures and city councils Similar positions exist for state legislatures as for both houses of Congress. In addition, "governor's floor leaders" or "administration floor leaders" may be selected by the governor in both houses of several states' legislatures to guide and advocate for the governor's legislative agenda. Historically, Governor's floor leaders have been selected in Georgia, Louisiana, Illinois, Tennessee, Alabama and California. "Mayor's floor leaders" have also been historically appointed in the city councils of Chicago, Baltimore, and Houston. ==See also==