President of the Louisiana State Senate

President of the Louisiana State Senate
Incumbent John Alario, Jr. since January 9, 2012
Appointer	Louisiana State Senate
Term length	Four years
Inaugural holder	Julien Poydras
Formation	1812
Succession	5th

The President of the Louisiana State Senate is the highest-ranking member of the Louisiana State Senate. As presiding officer, he or she convenes session and calls members to order, but can designate another state senator to preside in his or her place.

The Louisiana state senate president is fifth in gubernatorial line of succession in Louisiana. The president's counterpart in the lower house of the Louisiana Legislature is the Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives.

The Louisiana Constitution of 1812 did not provide for a lieutenant governor to preside over the state senate and allowed the president of the state senate to succeed the governor. The first senate president to succeed to the governorship was Henry S. Thibodaux, who succeeded to the position in 1824 after the resignation of Governor Thomas B. Robertson. In 1829, Governor Pierre Derbigny died in a carriage accident, allowing for Armand Beauvais to become acting governor. Beauvais resigned after only three months in 1830 to run in the special election to fill the post. The new senate president, Jacques Dupré, became the new acting governor until he resigned in 1831 and was replaced by governor-elect André B. Roman.

In the Louisiana Constitution of 1846, the Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana assumed the functions of the state senate presidency. During the Civil War there were two lieutenant governors, one union, and one confederate, as there were two separate state governments. The lieutenant governor presided over the Louisiana State Senate from 1853 until the adoption of the Louisiana constitution of 1974. The current president of the state senate is selected by the governor from among the state senators and is confirmed by their vote.

Although the president is not the only state senator that can serve as a presiding officer, he holds the power to assign the presiding officer in his absence. During session, the presiding officer controls the flow of debate on the Senate floor, and decides questions of order.