Speaker of the House of Keys
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The Speaker of the House of Keys (Manx: Loayreyder yn Chiare as Feed) is the principal officer of the House of Keys, the lower house of the Isle of Man legislature. The Speaker is elected from the membership of the House at its first sitting after an election. He is responsible for controlling the procedure of the House and for authoritative interpretation of its standing orders. He sets the business of the House and authorises the order of business of the House for each sitting. The Speaker uses the letters SHK after his name.
The Speaker is an impartial member of the House and only votes on motions where the division of votes is exactly half in favour and half against. He then votes in favour of the status quo.
All Speakers from 1750 to 1898 were either members of the Moore or Taubman families or married into them. Until 1866 the Keys was non-elected.
The present Speaker is Steve Rodan, who was elected in 2006.
Before the House was elected in 1867 the role of Speaker was assumed to be for life. Thus when Edward Moore Gawne resigned in 1867 he was the first Speaker not to die in office. Since then, although it is possible to resign the Office or nowadays even to fail to be re-elected, all Speakers died in office until Sir Charles Kerruish in 1990. Since then none have died in office.
Chairmen of the House of the Keys
- Major Richard Stevenson, c.1649–c.1660
- Edward Christian, c.1660–1673
- Charles Christian, 1673–1697
- Captain Thomas Stevenson, 1697–1704
- Captain John Stevenson, 1704–1738
- Captain Thomas Heywood, 1738–1758
Speakers of the House of Keys
- Sir George Moore, 1758–1780
- John Taubman, 1780–1799
- Major John Taubman, 1799–1823
- Colonel Mark Wilkes FRS, 1823–1831
- General Alexander John Goldie, 1831–1844
- Colonel John Taubman Goldie-Taubman, 1844–1847
- John Moore, 1847–1854
- Edward Moore Gawne, 1854–1867
- Sir John Senhouse Goldie-Taubman JP, 1867–1898
- Arthur William Moore CVO M.A. JP, 1898–1909
- Dalrymple Maitland, 1909–1919
- John Robert Kerruish, 1919
- Sir George Frederick Clucas CBE JP M.A., 1919–1937
- Sir Joseph Davidson Qualtrough CBE, 1937–1960
- Henry Knowles Corlett OBE CP, 1960–1962
- Sir Henry Charles Kerruish OBE CP, 1962–1990
- George Victor Harris Kneale CBE M.A., 1990–1991
- James Crookall Cain FCA, 1991–1996
- Noel Quayle Cringle, 1996–2000
- John David Qualtrough Cannan, 2000–2001
- Tony Brown, 2001–2006
- Steve Rodan, 2006–present
Recent Elections
| Year | Candidates & Votes | Elected |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 |
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| 2006 | ||
| 2001 |
