Who Holds the Gavel?

Written By Beatriz Rey

A Look at Parliamentary Speakers and the Latest on Legislative Developments Worldwide

It’s time for a fresh update on global trends in legislative modernization and AI in parliaments. In this edition, we also turn the spotlight to the Speakers of Parliament, drawing on new data from the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) to explore who holds these influential positions around the world.

One development to watch: Syria is set to hold its first parliamentary elections under new leadership – following the ousting of Bashar al-Assad – between September 15 and 20.

Stay tuned for more on legislative innovations in the coming weeks.

Beatriz Rey, Ph.D.

Speakers of Parliament: History, Power, and a Snapshot of Today’s Leaders

Last week, Brazil’s Congress faced a rebellion by a minority of legislators who blocked both the House and Senate speakers from presiding over floor proceedings. With both speakers making headlines, it seemed like the perfect moment to take a closer look at who these figures are and what they do in different political systems. The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) maintains resources on the subject, along with comparative data on speakers around the world.

In most legislatures, the speaker is tasked with overseeing the institution’s day-to-day functioning – moderating debates, ruling on points of order, and announcing the results of votes. The role often extends to deciding who gets the floor, enforcing parliamentary rules when members breach them, and representing the legislature in ceremonial and official events.

According to the IPU:

  • The first recorded speaker was Sir Thomas de Hungerford, appointed to the British House of Commons in 1377.

  • The first woman to hold such a position was Olga Ruder-Zeynek in Austria in 1927 – the only female speaker to serve before the Second World War.

  • Today, the longest-serving speaker is Cavaye Yeguie Djibril of Cameroon, who has been in the role for 29 years.

  • Hugo Motta, speaker of Brazil’s House, is currently the youngest in the world (and, just last week, he nearly found himself unable to take a seat in his chair).

The IPU dataset for 2019 covers 166 countries, while the 2025 dataset expands this to 184. In both cases, the data refer to the month of August. The overall average age of speakers was about 60.6 years in 2019 and 61 years in 2025, showing little change over the period.

The chart above compares the gender distribution of speakers in both years. Men continue to hold the vast majority of speakerships, although there has been a modest increase in the proportion of women — from about 19% in 2019 to just over 21% in 2025. While the shift is small, it points to gradual, if slow, progress toward gender balance in these leadership roles.

The Latest on Modernization

  • Apolitical CEO and cofounder Robyn Scott highlights Africa’s unique chance to lead in inclusive, locally designed AI by building agile, low-cost public sector solutions from the ground up. She warns, however, that without swift, coordinated action, the continent could lose this first-mover advantage and become dependent on imported technologies.

  • In response to the Modernisation Committee’s inquiry, the UK House of Commons has added quick improvements – new accessible toilets, better signage, brighter lighting, and safer escalators – with a full accessibility report due later this year.

  • In India, the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly has rolled out “AI dashboards” for legislators, available on tablets and pulling together data from government and civic sources. The system is paired with AI-enabled cameras that capture speeches and identify discussion topics, with the goal of making decision-making more informed and data-driven.

  • In the UK, a Member of Parliament has launched “AI Mark,” an AI version of himself to help handle communications with constituents. While it promises to improve accessibility, it has also raised questions about ethics and whether technology might erode authentic human engagement.

Other News

  • Poetry in Parliament? Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Kumar Jha argues that verse can distill complex ideas, elevate debate, and counter the coarsening of political discourse.

  • ParlaMint 5.0 is a newly-released collection of parliamentary speeches from 29 national and regional European parliaments, designed to help researchers analyze political discourse over time. The latest version adds topic labels from the Comparative Agendas Project and sentiment annotations, with the data available in multiple formats – including a machine-translated English version – for easy exploration.

  • From Modern Parliaments to Ancient Ones: Archaeologists in Türkiye have unearthed a 2,050-year-old Roman council hall in Laodicea, a uniquely designed chamber that once seated up to 800 members and served as the administrative heart of the region for over six centuries.

Worldwide Events

Beatriz Rey
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