List of Speakers of the National Assembly of Guyana
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The Speaker is the presiding officer of the National Assembly in Guyana. The post was created in 1966 when the National Assembly came into being, although previous legislatures including the Legislative Council, House of Assembly and the Legislative Assembly also had Speakers.
The position of Speaker was introduced in 1953 following constitutional reforms that created the House of Assembly. The Speaker was initially appointed by the Governor, but following the 1961 constitutional reforms, was elected by members of the legislature. The first elected Speaker, Rahman Baccus Gajraj, was not a member of the Legislative Assembly.[1] The second, Aubrey Percival Alleyne, was a member of the House of Assembly, and after election as Speaker, resigned from his role as an elected member and was replaced by the next person on the party's list.
The Speaker initially wore a full-bottomed wig and ceremonial gown, with the practice ceasing in 1969.[1] The Speaker's Chair was a gift from the Government of India on 15 November 1966 to celebrate Guyanese independence.[1]
List of Speakers
| Name | Entered office | Left office |
|---|---|---|
| House of Assembly | ||
| Eustace Gordon Woolford | 7 April 1953 | 21 December 1953 |
| Interim Legislative Council | ||
| Eustace Gordon Woolford | 5 January 1954 | 29 June 1957 |
| Legislative Council | ||
| Donald Edward Jackson | 21 August 1957 | 18 July 1961 |
| Legislative Assembly | ||
| Rahman Baccus Gajraj | 5 October 1961 | 25 September 1964 |
| House of Assembly | ||
| Aubrey Percival Alleyne | 31 December 1964 | 26 May 1966 |
| National Assembly | ||
| Aubrey Percival Alleyne | 26 May 1966 | 4 August 1967 |
| Rahman Baccus Gajraj | 16 February 1968 | 4 January 1971 |
| Sase Narain | 4 January 1971 | 10 June 1992 |
| Derek Chunilall Jagan | 17 December 1992 | 15 October 2000 |
| Martin Zephyr | 23 October 2000 | 15 February 2001 |
| Hari Narayen Ramkaran | 4 May 2001 | 2011 |
| Raphael Trotman | 2011 | 2015 |
| Barton Scotland | 10 June 2015 | |
Note
- Jagan died in office. Deputy speaker, Clarissa Riehl, served as acting speaker 15 - 23 October 2010 until a successor was elected.[2]
