President pro tempore of the United States Senate

The President pro tempore of the Senate of the United States (English President pro tempore of the United States Senate ) is the second tallest member of the Senate of the United States and the highest-ranking senator. The Vice President of the United States is ex officio chairman of the Senate and thus its highest ranking member. In the absence of the Vice President, the President pro tempore of the Senate sitting in front. The Latin term pro tempore literally means "on time " in a broader sense " officiating ".

To the President pro tempore of the longest-serving Senator of the largest fraction is traditionally chosen by the Senate. In general, the daily business of the Senate, he usually exercises the Presidency shall not itself but delegates this task to another senator. The President pro tempore is third in succession to the President of the United States.

After the death of Daniel Inouye of Hawaii on 17 December 2012, which had exercised this office since 28 June 2010, which also belonging to the Democratic Party Senator Patrick Leahy which was succeeded in Vermont.

History

The office of President pro tempore was established in 1789 by the Constitution of the United States. Originally this " reigning representative" appointed by the vice president for a few days or weeks, when he himself was unable to attend the meetings. Until the 1960s it was common that the vice president himself perceived preside over the daily sessions of the House so that the President pro tempore rarely occurred in this function. History of this office was therefore particularly important because the Office of the Vice President was occupied until the adoption of the 25th Amendment in 1967, leaving an incumbent or in his move up to the office of president until the next election. Thus, the President pro tempore of the Senate was in such a case to 1886 (deletion from the list of substitute successor ) automatically the second and 1947-1967 (after the Speaker of the House ) the third man after the president.

Until 1891 the President pro tempore only exercised his ministry, until the Vice President himself took the chair again, or, in his absence until the end of each legislature; at a second failure of the Vice President, a new President pro tempore was determined. Only then the office was busy, most Presidents pro tempore remained now, when they were chosen, until the change in majority ownership or until her retirement from the Senate in office. From 1792 to 1886 he was second replacement successor of the President and thus stood in the succession behind the Vice President and before the Speaker of the House. When Andrew Johnson, who became president after the death of Abraham Lincoln, was accused in 1868 of abuse of office, therefore, the next was the president pro tempore Benjamin Wade in the number of contenders for the presidency. Many historians believe that Wade's radical political views for the decision of the Senate, Johnson not to relieve the Office, played a major role: the senators did not want to see Wade in the White House. 1886 both the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House were then removed from the list of substitute successor of the President in 1947 but used in reverse order.

For an exceptional situation in the election of the President pro tempore occurred in the years 1911 to 1913 due to the difficult majorities: After the former incumbent William P. Frye had resigned for health reasons, agreed to the progressive and the conservative wing of the Republicans and the Senate Democrats on a temporary compromise solution for the replacement, after which the candidates of the political groups should alternate in the exercise of their office itself.