# Legislator

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Person who writes and passes laws

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Look up ***[legislator](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/legislator)***, ***[legislatrix](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/legislatrix)***, or ***[lawmaker](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/lawmaker)*** in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Legislature Chambers Unicameralism Bicameralism Tricameralism Multicameralism Upper house (senate) Lower house Parliament Parliamentary system Parliamentary group Speaker Parliamentary leader Member of parliament Whip Clerk International parliament Parliamentary procedure Committee Quorum Motion (no-confidence) Mass meeting Types Parliament (member of parliament) Congress (member of congress) Supreme state organ of power (deputy) Municipal council (councillor) The Estates (states-general) Legislatures by country v t e

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A **legislator**, or **lawmaker**, is a person who [writes](/source/Write) and [passes](/source/Ratification) [laws](/source/Law), especially someone who is a [member](/source/Member_of_parliament) of a [legislature](/source/Legislature). Legislators are often [elected](/source/Election) by the [people](/source/Voter), but they can be appointed, or [hereditary](/source/Inheritance). Legislatures may be supra-national (for example, the [European Parliament](/source/European_Parliament)), national, such as the [Japanese Diet](/source/Japanese_Diet), sub-national as in provinces, or [local](/source/Local_government).

## Overview

The [political theory](/source/Political_theory) of the [separation of powers](/source/Separation_of_powers) requires legislators to be independent individuals from the members of the [executive](/source/Executive_(government)) and the [judiciary](/source/Judiciary). Certain political systems adhere to this principle, others do not. In the [United Kingdom](/source/United_Kingdom) and other countries using the [Westminster system](/source/Westminster_system), for example, the executive is formed almost exclusively from legislators (members of the parliament), and the executive Cabinet itself has delegated legislative power.

In continental European [jurisprudence](/source/Jurisprudence) and legal discussion, "the legislator" (**le législateur**) is the [abstract entity](/source/Abstract_entity) that has produced the laws. When there is room for [interpretation](/source/Interpretation_(logic)), the intent of the legislator will be questioned, and the court is directed to rule in the direction it judges to best fit the legislative intent, which can be difficult in the case of conflicting laws or constitutional provisions.

## Terminology

The local term for a legislator is usually a derivation of the local term for the relevant legislature. Typical examples include

- Parliament: [member of parliament](/source/Member_of_parliament)

- Assembly: member of the assembly

- Legislature: member of the legislature

- Congress: [member of congress](/source/Member_of_congress)

- [Chamber of Deputies](/source/Chamber_of_Deputies): deputy

- [Senate](/source/Senate): senator

- [House of Representatives](/source/House_of_Representatives): representative

- The generic term "deputy" may also be used, deriving from the concept that the legislator is "deputising" for the electorate of their [electoral district](/source/Electoral_district).

### By country

This is an incomplete list of terms for a national legislator:

Country Title Legislature Algeria نواب (Député) People's National Assembly Argentina Diputado Nacional Chamber of Deputies Senador Senate Diputado provincial Several provincial Chambers of Deputies Belarus Дэпутат (deputat) House of Representatives Belgium Provincial executive member: Gedeputeerde (Dutch) / Député (French) / Deputierter (German) Deputation / Provincial College (provincial executive body) In French, député is sometimes also used to denote a member of parliament. Chamber of Representatives or a regional parliament Bolivia Diputado/Diputada Chamber of Deputies Brazil Deputado estadual/distrital Legislative Assemblies Deputado federal Chamber of Deputies Senador Federal Senate Bulgaria Депутат (Deputat) National Assembly Canada Senator,[1] Sénateur Senate of Canada Member of Parliament (MP)[2] / Député House of Commons of Canada Chile Diputado/Diputada Chamber of Deputies Senador/Senadora Senate China Deputy (人大代表) National People's Congress Colombia Diputado/Diputada Departamental Assemblies Costa Rica Diputado/Diputada Legislative Assembly Denmark Folketingsmedlem Folketinget Dominican Republic Diputado/Diputada Chamber of Deputies of the Dominican Republic Ecuador Asambleísta (before 2007, diputado) National Assembly El Salvador Diputado/Diputada Legislative Assembly France Député/Députée National Assembly Sénateur/Sénatrice Senate Germany Abgeordnete/Abgeordneter Bundestag, Landtag Guatemala Diputado/Diputada Congress of the Republic Guernsey People's Deputy States of Guernsey Haiti Député[3] Chamber of Deputies Honduras Diputado/Diputada National Congress India Member of Parliament Lok Sabha Iran مجلس شورای اسلامی Islamic Consultative Assembly Ireland Senators / Seanadóirí Seanad Éireann Teachta Dála (TD) Dáil Éireann Italy Deputato Chamber of Deputies Jersey Deputy States Assembly Kazakhstan Депутат (deputat) Parliament Latvia Deputāts Saeima Lebanon Député/النواب (Nuwwab, or deputy) Parliament Luxembourg Deputéierten / Député Chamber of Deputies Mexico Diputado/Diputada Chamber of Deputies Netherlands Gedeputeerde Provincial executive (European Netherlands) Eilandgedeputeerde Bestuurscollege (Caribbean Netherlands) Nicaragua Diputado/Diputada National Assembly North Korea Deputy (대의원; taeŭiwŏn)[4][5] Supreme People's Assembly Panama Diputado/Diputada National Assembly Paraguay Diputado/Diputada Chamber of Deputies Poland Poseł/Posłanka Sejm Senator/Senatorka Senate Portugal Deputado Assembly of the Republic Romania Deputat Chamber of Deputies Russia Депутат (deputat) State Duma and regional legislative bodies Somalia Deputy Federal Parliament Spain Senador/Senadora Senate Diputado/Diputada Congress of Deputies Thailand Senator (วุฒิสมาชิก; ส.ว.) Senate Member of the H.R. (สมาชิกสภาผู้แทนราษฎร; ส.ส.) House of Representatives Ukraine People's Deputy of Ukraine (Депутат) Verkhovna Rada United Kingdom Lords Spiritual and Lords Temporal House of Lords Member of Parliament (MP) House of Commons United States of America Senator Senate Representative; Congressperson House of Representatives Uruguay Diputado/Diputada Chamber of Representatives Venezuela Diputado/Diputada National Assembly Vietnam Đại biểu Quốc hội National Assembly

## Substitute legislator

Some legislatures provide each legislator with an official "substitute legislator" (or "alternate") who deputises for the legislator in the legislature if the elected representative is unavailable. [Venezuela](/source/Venezuela), for example, provides for substitute legislators (**diputado suplente**) to be elected under Article 186 of its [1999 constitution](/source/Constitution_of_Venezuela).[6] [Ecuador](/source/Ecuador), [Panama](/source/Panama), and the U.S. state of [Idaho](/source/Idaho) also have substitute legislators.[7]

## See also

- [List of legislatures by country](/source/List_of_legislatures_by_country)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** [Senators](https://www.sencanada.ca/en/senators/). Parliament of Canada.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Guide to the Canadian House of Commons: The Role of a Member of Parliament](https://learn.parl.ca/sites/Learn/default/en_CA/Guide-to-the-Canadian-House-of-Commons/Role). Parliament of Canada.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Chambre des députés"](https://web.archive.org/web/20180831233552/http://parlementhaitien.ht/chambre-des-deputes/). Le Parlement haitien. Archived from [the original](http://parlementhaitien.ht/chambre-des-deputes/) on Aug 31, 2018.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Socialist Constitution"](http://www.naenara.com.kp/main/index/en/politics?arg_val=leader3). Chapter IV, Section 1, Article 89. Retrieved 6 March 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** [사회주의헌법](http://www.naenara.com.kp/main/index/ko/politics?arg_val=leader3) (in Korean). 제6장, 제1절, 제89조. Retrieved 6 March 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["Asamblea Nacional Constituyente"](https://web.archive.org/web/20140417173551/http://www.tsj.gov.ve/legislacion/constitucion1999.htm). Tribunal Supremo de Justicia. Archived from [the original](http://www.tsj.gov.ve/legislacion/constitucion1999.htm) on 2014-04-17. Retrieved 2014-04-12.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Russell, Betsy (16 March 2014). ["Idaho's substitute law unique"](https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2014/mar/16/idahos-substitute-law-unique/). *Spokesman Review*. Retrieved 16 October 2022.

## External links

- Media related to [Legislators](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Legislators) at Wikimedia Commons

- Quotations related to [Legislators](https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Legislators) at Wikiquote

[Portals](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Contents/Portals):
- [Law](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Law)
- [Politics](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Politics)
- [Biography](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Biography)

Authority control databases National United States Japan Israel Other NARA Yale LUX

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