List of speakers of the Louisiana House of Representatives

Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives
Incumbent Phillip DeVillier since January 8, 2024
Appointer	Louisiana House of Representatives
Term length	Four years
Inaugural holder	Pierre Bauchet St. Martin
Formation	1812
Succession	6th

Politics of Louisiana
Constitution and law United States Constitution Louisiana Constitution Louisiana law
Executive Governor Jeff Landry (R) State Cabinet Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser (R) Secretary of State Nancy Landry (R) Attorney General Liz Murrill (R) State Treasurer John Fleming (R) Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry Mike Strain (R) Commissioner of Insurance Timothy Temple (R) Public Service Commission Board of Elementary and Secondary Education
Legislature State Senate President Cameron Henry (R) President pro tempore Regina Barrow (R) Majority Leader Jeremy Stine (R) Minority Leader Gerald Boudreaux (D) House of Representatives Speaker Phillip DeVillier (R) Speaker pro tempore Michael T. Johnson (R) Majority Leader Mark Wright (Louisiana politician) (R) Minority Leader Matthew Willard (D)
Judiciary Supreme Court Chief Justice John L. Weimer (I) Justice William J. Crain (R) Justice Scott Crichton (R) Justice James T. Genovese (R) Justice Jay McCallum (R) Justice Jefferson D. Hughes III (R) Justice Piper D. Griffin (D) Louisiana Circuit Courts of Appeal Louisiana District Courts Parish and City Courts Mayor's Courts Justice of the Peace Courts
Elections Nonpartisan blanket primary Political parties Qualified Louisiana parties Democratic Party Republican Party Green Party Reform Party Libertarian Party National minor parties Political party strength
Administrative divisions Parishes (64) Municipalities (303) School districts
Federal representation U.S. Senate (list) Bill Cassidy (R) John Kennedy (R) U.S. House of Representatives (list) 1: Steve Scalise (R) 2: Troy Carter (D) 3: Clay Higgins (R) 4: Mike Johnson (R) 5: Julia Letlow (R) 6: Garret Graves (R)
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The Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives is the presiding officer of the Louisiana House of Representatives, the lower house of the Louisiana State Legislature. The speaker serves as the leader and head of the Louisiana House. The speaker is traditionally suggested by the Governor of Louisiana. The speaker's counterpart in the State Senate is the President of the Senate, currently Republican Cameron Henry.

The first speaker, Pierre Bauchet St. Martin, was elected by the House in 1812. During the first years of statehood the speakership and the Louisiana House of Representative was dominated by supporters of Henry Clay, after 1845 the Democratic Party came to dominate politics until the United States Civil War. After the war the state, along with the rest of the southern states, underwent the Reconstruction from 1865 until 1877, during this time politics were dominated by the Republican Party. In 1877 the Democrats came to power again and stayed in power in the House until late 2010. During this time the practice of the Governor appointing the speaker began. In 2008 Republican Governor Bobby Jindal appointed the first Republican speaker in over a hundred years even though the Democrats held a small majority.

When Democrat John Bel Edwards succeeded Jindal in 2016, his choice as Speaker, Democrat Walt Leger III of New Orleans, was rejected by house's Republican majority, which instead elected fellow Republican Taylor Barras of New Iberia.

The speaker serves as the presiding officer and highest ranking representative in the Louisiana House of Representatives. He rules on points of order during sessions, makes committee assignments, which are usually actually made by the Governor. The speaker is usually an ally of the Governor and serves as his floor leader in the House, in this role he plays a vital part in passing legislation. The speaker usually is a chief negotiator in getting legislation passed on behalf of the Governor. The speaker leads the coalition of the Governor's supporters in the House, serves as the leader of House of Representatives, he controls the flow of legislation through the House, and serves as an ex officio member of each House committee. The speaker is sixth in the gubernatorial line of succession.

The speaker pro tempore is appointed in the same way as the speaker. The Speaker pro tempore acts as speaker in the absence of the speaker. If the chair is ever permanently vacated the speaker pro tempore acts as the temporary presiding officer until the House elects a new speaker. The Speaker pro tempore, although not officially a powerful position, generally serves as a major power player in the House. The House of Representatives created the position in 1972.

• Governor of Louisiana
• President of the Louisiana State Senate
• List of Louisiana state legislatures

• http://house.legis.state.la.us/