Clerk (legislature)

The clerk, chief clerk, secretary, or secretary general (British English: /klɑːrk/; American English: /klɜːrk/) of a legislative chamber is the senior administrative officer responsible for ensuring that its business runs smoothly.

A clerk may also advise the speaker or members on parliamentary procedure, acting in American parlance as a "parliamentarian".

In the Westminster system, the clerk is usually an apolitical civil servant,[a] and typically attains the position through promotion and retains it until retirement.

[b] In the United States, while clerks are usually nonpartisan, they are often elected by the assembly members at the beginning of each term.

Other administrative and procedural officials in legislatures of English-speaking countries will often be referred to as clerks, even if their formal job title doesn’t.

In Commonwealth countries, senior clerks will often sit on a table in-front of the presiding officer, and are accordingly known as the clerks at the table