Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives

Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
Seal of the Speaker of the House
Flag of the Speaker of the House
Incumbent Paul Ryan since October 29, 2015
U.S. Congress U.S. House of Representatives
Style	Mr. Speaker (Informal and within the House) The Honorable (Formal)
Type	Presiding officer of one chamber in a bicameral legislature
Residence	Washington, D.C.
Seat	United States Capitol, District of Columbia, U.S.
Nominator	Anyone who is qualified to be a representative; in practice member of the house and party leadership. Nominations are submitted to the Clerk
Appointer	U.S. House of Representatives Elected by the House, sworn in by the Dean
Term length	At the House's pleasure; elected at the start of each session, and upon a vacancy
Constituting instrument	U.S. Constitution
Formation	March 4, 1789
First holder	Frederick Muhlenberg April 1, 1789
Succession	Second
Deputy	The Speaker can delegate to a member of the House to act as Speaker pro tempore, presiding over the House in his absence
Salary	$223,500 / year
Website	Speaker.gov

The Speaker of the House is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives. The office was established in 1789 by Article I, Section 2 of the United States Constitution. The Speaker is the political and parliamentary leader of the House of Representatives. He or she is simultaneously the House's presiding officer, leader of the body's majority party, and the institution's administrative head. Speakers also perform various other administrative and procedural functions, and represent their congressional district. Given these several roles and responsibilities, the Speaker usually does not personally preside over debates. That duty is instead delegated to members of the House from the majority party. Neither does he or she regularly participate in floor debates or vote.

The Constitution does not require that the Speaker be an elected House Representative, though every Speaker so far has been an elected Member of the House. The Speaker is second in the United States presidential line of succession, after the Vice President and ahead of the President pro tempore of the U.S. Senate.

The current House Speaker is Congressman Paul Ryan from Wisconsin. He was elected to the office on October 29, 2015, and is the 54th person to serve as Speaker.

The House of Representatives elects the Speaker of the House on the first day of every new Congress and in the event of the death or resignation of an incumbent Speaker. The Clerk of the House of Representatives requests nominations: there are normally two, one from each major party (each party having previously met to decide on its nominee). The Clerk then calls the roll of the Representatives, each Representative indicating the surname of the candidate the Representative is supporting. Representatives are not restricted to voting for one of the nominated candidates and may vote for any person, even for someone who is not a member of the House at all. They may also abstain by voting "present".