Member of parliament

A legislator, or lawmaker, is a person who writes and passes laws, especially someone who is a member of a legislature. Legislators are often elected by the people, but they can be appointed, or hereditary. Legislatures may be supra-national (for example, the European Parliament), national, such as the Japanese Diet, sub-national as in provinces, or local.

A parliament is the type of legislature, or law-making body, of a state based on the fusion of powers. Generally, a parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the executive government via hearings and inquiries. Its role is similar to that of a senate, synod or congress. The term parliament is commonly used in countries that are current or former monarchies. Some contexts restrict the use of the word to parliamentary systems, although it is also used to describe the legislature in some presidential systems (e.g., the Parliament of Ghana), even where it is not in the official name. A parliament is typically made up of elected members, who are legislators.

Historically, parliaments included various kinds of deliberative, consultative, and judicial assemblies. Parliamentary gatherings in the Middle Ages began to establish that monarchs were subject to law and first summoned representatives of common people, notably the Cortes of León in 1188 and an English parliament in 1265. During the early modern period, the Glorious Revolution of 1688 in Britain established the primacy of parliamentary sovereignty, through which the rule of law could be enforced. Many other modern concepts of parliamentary government developed subsequently in the Kingdom of Great Britain (1707–1800). Expansion of suffrage in the 19th and 20th centuries led to parliaments around the world becoming democratically elected.

A parliamentary system, or parliamentary democracy, is a form of government based on the fusion of powers. In this system the head of government (chief executive) derives their democratic legitimacy from their ability to command the support ("confidence") of a majority of the parliament, to which they are held accountable. This head of government is usually, but not always, distinct from a ceremonial head of state. This is in contrast to a presidential system, which features a president who is not fully accountable to the legislature, and cannot be replaced by a simple majority vote.

Countries with parliamentary systems may be constitutional monarchies, where a monarch is the head of state while the head of government is almost always a member of parliament, or parliamentary republics, where a mostly ceremonial president is the head of state while the head of government is from the legislature. In a few countries, the head of government is also head of state but is elected by the legislature. In bicameral parliaments, the head of government is generally, though not always, a member of the lower house.

A private member's bill is a bill (proposed law) introduced into a legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch. The designation "private member's bill" is used in most Westminster system jurisdictions, in which a "private member" is any member of parliament (MP) who is not a member of the cabinet (executive). Other labels may be used for the concept in other parliamentary systems; for example, the label member's bill is used in the Scottish Parliament and the New Zealand Parliament, the term private senator's bill is used in the Australian Senate, and the term public bill is used in the Senate of Canada. In legislatures where the executive does not have the right of initiative, such as the United States Congress, the concept does not arise since bills are always introduced by legislators (or sometimes by popular initiative).

In the Westminster system, most bills are "government bills" introduced by the executive, with private members' bills the exception; however, some time is set aside in the schedule for reading such bills. They may be introduced by non-ministerial MPs from government-supporting parties (backbenchers), by members of opposition parties (frontbencher or backbencher), or by independents or crossbenchers. The Israeli Knesset has a long history of enacting private members' bills: a slight majority of the laws passed by it originated as private members' bills, and thousands more are introduced without being passed. In contrast, the Oireachtas (parliament) of the Republic of Ireland rarely passes private members' bills, with the overwhelming number of bills being passed being introduced by members of the cabinet.

A parliamentary secretary is a member of parliament in the Westminster system who assists a more senior minister with their duties. In several countries, the position has been re-designated as assistant minister, junior minister or associate minister.

In the parliamentary systems of several Commonwealth countries, such as the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, India and Singapore, it is customary for the prime minister to appoint parliamentary secretaries from their political party in parliament to assist cabinet ministers with their work. The role of parliamentary secretaries varies under different prime ministers. The post has often served as a training ground for future ministers.

A dual mandate occurs when an official serves in or holds multiple public positions simultaneously. This practice is sometimes known as double jobbing in Britain, double-dipping in the United States, and cumul des mandats in France. Thus, if someone who is already mayor of a town or city councillor becomes elected as MP or senator at the national or state legislature and retains both positions, this is a dual mandate.

Political and legal approaches toward dual mandate-holding vary widely. In some countries, dual mandates are a well-established part of the political culture; in others they may be prohibited by law. For example, in federal states, federal office holders are often not permitted to hold state office. In most states, membership of an independent judiciary or civil service generally disqualifies a person from simultaneously holding office in the executive or the legislature. In states with a presidential or dualist-parliamentary system of government, members of the executive cannot simultaneously be members of the legislature and vice versa. In states with bicameral legislatures, one usually cannot simultaneously be a member of both houses. The holder of one office who wins election or appointment to another where a dual mandate is prohibited must either resign the former office or refuse the new one.

Knight of the shire (Latin: milites comitatus) was the formal title for a member of parliament (MP) representing a county constituency in the British House of Commons, from its origins in the medieval Parliament of England until the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 ended the practice of each county (or shire) forming a single constituency. The corresponding titles for other MPs were burgess in a borough constituency (or citizen if the borough had city status) and baron for a Cinque Ports constituency. Knights of the shire had more prestige than burgesses, and sitting burgesses often stood for election for the shire in the hope of increasing their standing in Parliament.

The name "knight of the shire" originally implied that the representative had to be a knight, and the writ of election referred to a belted knight until the 19th century; but by the 14th century men who were not knights were commonly elected. An act of Henry VI (23 Hen. 6. c. 14) stipulated that those eligible for election were knights and "such notable esquires and gentlemen as have estates sufficient to be knights, and by no means of the degree of yeoman".