View source for Senator by right

{{Politics of Belgium}}

'''Senators by right''' ({{langx|nl|senator van rechtswege}}, {{langx|fr|sénateur de droit}}, {{langx|de|Senator von Rechts wegen}}) were non-elected members of the [[Belgian Senate]].

If the ruling [[Belgian monarchy|monarch of Belgium]] had any children, all of them who were above 18 years old could opt to sit in the Senate, as senators by right; if the current monarch had no offspring, the descendants of the branch of the royal house called on to reign were senators by right instead.<ref name="CompSen">{{Cite web|url=http://www.senate.be/english/SenateCompoEN.html|title=Composition of the Belgian Senate}}</ref>

Theoretically, senators by right were entitled to vote in the Senate once they reached the age of 21. However, by [[constitutional convention (political custom)|constitutional convention]] they did not use this right. Their presence was also disregarded when calculating the [[quorum]]; to reach the quorum, 36 of the 71 elected senators had to be present.<ref name="CompSen" /> Until 2013, [[Prince Philippe, Duke of Brabant|Prince Philippe]], [[Princess Astrid, Archduchess of Austria-Este|Princess Astrid]] and [[Prince Laurent of Belgium|Prince Laurent]] were senators by right.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.senate.be/www/?MIval=/WieIsWie/SenPerType&LANG=nl |title=Huidige lijst van de senatoren |language=Dutch |trans-title=Current list of senators |accessdate=2010-08-04}}</ref> When Prince Philippe became King, there were no senators by right.

As part of the [[sixth Belgian state reform]], the function of senators by right was abolished effective as of the [[2014 Belgian federal election|May 2014 elections]].

==List==
[[File:Prestation de serment du futur roi Léopold II comme sénateur le 9 avril 1853.jpg|thumb|Installation of Prince Leopold as member of the Belgium Senate on 9 April 1853]]
{|class=wikitable
|+The following people were senators by right between 1831 and 2014.
!Senator!!From!!To
|-
| [[Leopold II of Belgium|Prince Leopold, later King Leopold II]]||9 April 1853||16 December 1865
|-
| [[Albert I of Belgium|Prince Albert, later King Albert I]]||13 November 1906||23 December 1906
|-
|[[Leopold III of Belgium|Prince Leopold, later King Leopold III]] ||8 November 1927||23 February 1934
|-
| [[Albert II of Belgium|Prince Albert, later King Albert II]]||11 March 1958||9 August 1993
|-
| [[Philippe of Belgium|Prince Philippe, later King Philippe]]||21 June 1994||21 July 2013
|-
| [[Princess Astrid of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria-Este|Princess Astrid]]|| 20 November 1996||21 July 2013
|-
| [[Prince Laurent of Belgium|Prince Laurent]]||31 May 2000||21 July 2013
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Members of the Senate (Belgium)|+]]


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