Council of the Republic (Belarus) explained

Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus
Native Name:	Савет Рэспублікі Нацыянальнага сходу Рэспублікі Беларусі Совет Республики Национального собрания Республики Беларусь
Coa Pic:	Coat of arms of Belarus (2020–present).svg
Coa Res:	110px
Legislature:	8th Council of the Republic of Belarus
House Type:	Upper house
Body:	National Assembly of Belarus
Foundation:	1996
Preceded By:	Supreme Soviet of Belarus
Leader1 Type:	Speaker
Leader1:	Natalya Kochanova
Party1:	Belaya Rus
Election1:	6 December 2019
Leader2 Type:	Deputy Speaker
Leader2:	Sergei Khomenko
Party2:	Belaya Rus
Election2:	11 April 2024
Members:	64
Structure1 Res:	250px
Political Groups1:	Government (63) Belaya Rus (46) Communist Party (17) Support (1) LDPB (1)
Last Election1:	4 April 2024^[1]
Meeting Place:	Government House, Minsk
Website:	http://www.sovrep.gov.by/

The Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus (Belarusian: Савет Рэспублікі Нацыянальнага сходу Рэспублікі Беларусь; Russian: Совет Республики Национального собрания Республики Беларусь) is the upper house of the parliament of Belarus.

History

It was established after the Constitution of Belarus was amended in 1996 following a referendum, replacing the Supreme Council of Belarus.^[2]

Composition

Qualifications

To be elected to the Council, an individual must be at least 30 years of age, a citizen of the republic and of no other country, have residency in an oblast or the Minsk City for at least 5 years, and have no criminal record.

Election

The Council consists of 64 members, and the representation is based geographically, with each oblast (six) and the city of Minsk (the national capital) represented by eight members, and an additional eight members are appointed to the Council via presidential quota. Elections are indirect, with members being elected by the deputies of the popularly elected regional councils of deputies by secret ballot in a two-round system if necessary.^[3] A candidate must receive the votes of over 50% of the deputies seated to be elected.^[3]

Speakers of the Council of the Republic

Name	Entered office	Left office
	January 13, 1997	December 19, 2000
	December 19, 2000	July 28, 2003
Gennady Novitsky	July 28, 2003	October 31, 2008
	October 31, 2008	May 24, 2010
Anatoli Rubinov	May 24, 2010	December 2014
Mikhail Myasnikovich^[4]	December 27, 2014	December, 2019
Natalya Kochanova^[5]	December, 2019	Present

See also

• National Assembly (Parliament) of Belarus
• House of Representatives of Belarus
• Politics of Belarus
• List of legislatures by country

External links

• Web site: Official website of the Council of the Republic of Belarus . 30 March 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090315095257/http://www.sovrep.gov.by/index_eng.php/.466....1.0.0.html . 15 March 2009 .

Notes and References

1. https://eng.belta.by/society/view/cec-head-comments-on-elections-of-members-to-upper-house-of-belarusian-parliament-157337-2024/
2. Web site: Республика Беларусь. 2020-04-30. 2020-05-13. https://web.archive.org/web/20200513184231/https://iacis.ru/eng/parliaments/parlamenty_uchastniki/respublika_belarus/. live.
3. Web site: Elections of Members of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus . Belarus.by . Belarusian Telegraph Agency . 15 April 2024.
4. Web site: Belarus former prime minister to lead upper house of parliament . . 27 December 2014 . TASS . 28 December 2014 . 31 December 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141231072652/http://itar-tass.com/en/world/769619 . live .
5. Web site: New Belarusian senate speaker elected . 2020-01-14 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191228083941/https://eng.belta.by/politics/view/new-belarusian-senate-speaker-elected-126504-2019/ . 2019-12-28 . dead .