Designated senator

The appointed senators refer to those members of the Senate who are not elected by popular vote, but are appointed by different people and organizations from among people who meet certain requirements.

Regulation by country

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, the entire Upper House or House of Lords is non-elected. In its conformation, the political parties with relevant representation in the House of Commons intervene, as well as the Queen, the Anglican Church and a quota of hereditary lords.

Chile

Senators appointed for the period 1990-1998, from left to right: César Ruiz Danyau, Santiago Sinclair, Ronald Mc-Intyre Mendoza, Vicente Huerta Celis, Olga Feliú, Augusto Pinochet (who would assume as "vitalice" in 1998), Carlos Letelier Bobadilla, William Thayer Arteaga, Sergio Fernández and Ricardo Martin Díaz.

In Chile, the presence of designated senators extended from 1990, when the National Congress was reopened after the end of the military dictatorship, until 2006, after the Constitution was reformed the previous year, eliminating this political figure. The designated senators, also called institutional senators, which numbered 9, were appointed by three institutions: the National Security Council, the Supreme Court and the President of the Republic.

In particular, the president autonomously appointed a former state minister, a former rector of a state or state-recognized university; the National Security Council appointed a former Commander-in-Chief of the Army, a former Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, a former Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force, and a former General Director of the Carabineros. Lastly, the Supreme Court appointed a former Comptroller General of the Republic and two former Supreme Court ministers who had held office for at least two continuous years.

The institution of appointed senators and senators for life, included in the 1980 Constitution, was strongly criticized for causing a considerable fraction of the Senate not to be elected by popular vote (once the National Congress was reinstated in 1990, the current regulations At that time it contemplated 38 elected senators and 9 appointed; originally the elected senators would be only 26, which was reformed in 1989 and was not applied), which for its critics made it undemocratic.

Currently, the term is used by some sectors of opinion to designate senators who were appointed, from 2005 onwards, by political parties to replace those who have resigned to assume other functions in the government, since before the constitutional reforms the vacancy of the parliamentarian was occupied by the list partner. Unlike the original institution, this term has no legal validity.

Spain

In Spain, each of the Autonomous Communities appoints from among its autonomous deputies at least one senator (called senator by autonomous designation) and another for every million inhabitants. This means that there is a minimum of 17 appointed senators (1 for autonomy). Currently there are 58 senators appointed by the Autonomous Parliaments. The two autonomous cities of the country, Ceuta and Melilla, do not have designative representation in the Senate ^{[citation required]}.

Italy

In Italy, senators are appointed by the President of the Republic, for their exceptional merits in the social, scientific, artistic or literary field. These appointments cannot exceed the number of five (based on an interpretation of the Constitution, not shared by all the presidents of the Republic).