List of Presidents of the Senate of France

The French Senate is the Upper House of the French Parliament. It is presided over by a President. Although there had been Senates in both the First and Second Empires, these had not technically been legislative bodies, but rather advisory bodies on the model of the Roman Senate. France's first experience with an upper house was under the Directory from 1795 to 1799, when the Council of Ancients was the upper chamber. With the Restoration in 1814, a new Chamber of Peers was created, on the model of the British House of Lords. At first it contained hereditary peers, but following the July Revolution of 1830, it became a body to which one was appointed for life. The Second Republic returned to a unicameral system after 1848, but soon after the establishment of the Second French Empire in 1852, a Senate was established as the upper chamber. In the Fourth Republic, the Senate was renamed the Council of the Republic, but its function was largely the same. With the new constitution of the Fifth Republic in 1959, the older name of Senate was restored.

The President of the Senate, in addition to his duties as presiding officer of the Upper House of parliament, is also, according to the constitution of the Fifth Republic, first in line of succession in case of death or resignation of the president, thus becoming Acting President of the Republic until a new election can be held. This has already occurred twice. Alain Poher, the President of the French Senate, served as Acting President of France from 28 April until 20 June 1969 (between the resignation of President Charles de Gaulle and the installation of his elected successor President Georges Pompidou) and again from 3 April until 27 May 1974 (between the death of President Georges Pompidou and the installation of his elected successor President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing).

Presidents of the Chamber of Peers, 1814–1848

Portrait	Name	Took office	Left office
	Charles-Henri, chevalier Dambray	4 June 1814	20 March 1815
	Jean Jacques Régis de Cambacérès	2 June 1815	7 July 1815
	Charles-Henri, chevalier Dambray	12 October 1815	12 December 1829
	Claude-Emmanuel, marquis de Pastoret	17 December 1829	3 August 1830
	Étienne-Denis Pasquier	3 August 1830	24 February 1848

Presidents of the Senate, 1852–1940

Jérôme Bonaparte, only King of Westphalia and first President of the French Senate

Name	Took office	Left office	Political Party
Jérôme Bonaparte	28 January 1852	30 November 1852	Bonapartist
Raymond-Theodore Troplong	30 December 1852	1 March 1869	Bonapartist
Adrien Marie Devienne	3 March 1869	20 July 1869	Bonapartist
Eugène Rouher	20 July 1869	4 September 1870	Bonapartist
No Senate	1870	1876
Gaston Audiffret-Pasquier	13 March 1876	15 January 1879	Conservative
Louis Martel	15 January 1879	25 May 1880	Conservative
Léon Say	25 May 1880	2 February 1882	Republican
Philippe Le Royer	2 February 1882	24 February 1893	Republican
Jules Ferry	24 February 1893	17 March 1893	Left Republican
Paul-Armand Challemel-Lacour	27 March 1893	16 January 1896	Opportunist Republican
Émile Loubet	16 January 1896	18 February 1899	Left Republican
Armand Fallières	3 March 1899	17 January 1906	Democratic Republican Alliance
Antonin Dubost	16 February 1906	14 January 1920	Democratic Republican Alliance
Léon Bourgeois	14 January 1920	22 February 1923	Radical
Gaston Doumergue	22 February 1923	13 June 1924	Radical
Justin de Selves	19 June 1924	9 January 1927	Radical
Paul Doumer	14 January 1927	13 May 1931	Radical
Albert Lebrun	11 June 1931	10 May 1932	Democratic Alliance
Jules Jeanneney	3 June 1932	9 July 1940	Radical

Fourth Republic: Presidents of the Council of the Republic (1946–1958)

Political Party:   MRP   Rad-Soc

Portrait		Name	Took office	Left office	Political Party
		Auguste Champetier de Ribes	27 December 1946	6 March 1947	MRP
		Gaston Monnerville	18 March 1947	4 October 1958	Rad-Soc

Fifth Republic: Presidents of the Senate (1958–present)

Political Party:   Rad-Soc   CD; CDS; FD   RPR; UMP; LR   PS

Portrait		Name	Took office	Left office	Political Party
		Gaston Monnerville	4 October 1958	2 October 1968	Rad-Soc
		Alain Poher	2 October 1968	2 October 1992	CD (until 1976) CDS (from 1976) (within UDF from 1978)
		René Monory	2 October 1992	1 October 1998	CDS (until 1995) FD (from 1995) (within UDF)
		Christian Poncelet	1 October 1998	1 October 2008	RPR (until 2002) UMP (from 2002)
		Gérard Larcher	1 October 2008	1 October 2011	UMP
		Jean-Pierre Bel	1 October 2011	1 October 2014	PS
		Gérard Larcher	1 October 2014	Incumbent	UMP(until 2015) LR(from 2015)