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An ex officio member is a member of a body (a board, committee, council, etc.) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term ex officio is Latin, meaning literally "from the office", and the sense intended is "by right of office"; its use dates back to the Roman Republic.

According to Robert's Rules of Order the term denotes only how one becomes a member of a body.^[1] Unless specifically stated in regulations or bylaws, the rights of an ex officio member are exactly the same as other members.^[2] Participatory rights of ex officio members may or may not be limited by the body's regulations or bylaws. In some groups ex officio members may frequently abstain from voting.

For profit and nonprofit use

Any ex officio membership (for example, of committees, or of the board) is as defined by the nonprofit association's bylaws or other documents of authority. For example, the bylaws quite often provide that the organization's president will be ex officio a member of all committees, except the nominating committee.

Governmental examples

India

Rajya Sabha

The Vice-President of India is ex officio Chairman of Rajya Sabha, the Upper House of the Indian Parliament.^[3]

NITI Aayog

The Prime Minister of India is ex officio Chairman of NITI Aayog. Other ex officio members of NITI Aayog are the Minister of Home Affairs, Minister of Finance, Minister of Railways and the Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare.^[4]

China

According to the Constitution of the Communist Party of China, the General Secretary of the Central Committee must be a member of Politburo Standing Committee.^[5]

Hong Kong

As of 2007^[update], the Executive Council of Hong Kong is still composed of ex officio members (official members since 1997) and unofficial members (non-official members since 1997). By practice the ex officio members include the secretaries of departments, i.e. the Chief Secretary, the Financial Secretary and the Secretary for Justice. Since 2002 all secretaries of bureaux are also appointed by the Chief Executive to be official members of the Executive Council. But since 2005 the secretaries of bureaux attend only when items on the agenda concern their portfolios.

United Kingdom

House of Lords

In the House of Lords, the bishops of the five Great Sees of Canterbury, York, London, Durham and Winchester, and the 21 next most senior bishops of the Church of England, are ex officio members, and are entitled to vote just as any other member.

Supreme Courts of Scotland

The Lord President of the Court of Session is by virtue of office appointed as Lord Justice General of Scotland. As such, he is both head of the judiciary of Scotland, president of the Court of Session (the most senior civil court in Scotland), and president of the High Court of Justiciary (the most senior criminal court in Scotland).

United States

Senate

The United States Vice President, who also serves as President of the Senate, may vote in the Senate on matters decided by a majority vote (as opposed to a three-fifths vote or two-thirds vote), if the votes for passage and rejection are equal.^[6]

Colorado

In most Colorado counties, the county sheriff is elected by the citizens of the county. However, in the City and County of Denver, the mayor of Denver appoints a "Manager of Safety" who oversees the Department of Safety (including the Fire, Police, and Sheriff Departments) and is the ex officio sheriff of the jurisdiction. Similarly, in the City and County of Broomfield, Colorado, near Denver, the police chief (an appointed position) also acts ex officio as the county sheriff.^{[citation needed]}

New York

The Speaker of the New York City Council, and its Majority and Minority Leaders, are all ex officio members of each of its committees. Furthermore, each member of the Council is a non-voting ex officio member of each community board whose boundaries include any of the council member's constituents.^{[citation needed]}

References